


Nectarine Kisses

by ShowUsTheCakes



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Attempted Sexual Assault, College, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Indianapolis, Lafayette Indiana, Long-Distance Friendship, Long-Distance Relationship, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Purdue University, Self Confidence, Slow Burn, Therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 51,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27514378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowUsTheCakes/pseuds/ShowUsTheCakes
Summary: Hyunwoo thinks their roommate isn't all there. They rarely see her, and when they do she doesn't speak. What happens when he takes a chance to get to know her?
Relationships: Lee Jooheon & Lee Minhyuk, Lee Jooheon/Lee Minhyuk, Son Hyunwoo | Shownu/Original Character(s), Son Hyunwoo | Shownu/Original Female Character(s), Son Hyunwoo/original female character(s) of color
Comments: 39
Kudos: 17
Collections: Black Girl Magic in Fan Fiction!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there. Welcome to my brain. This is unbeta'ed. All mistakes on me. At some point in the story there will be a mention of attempted sexual assault. When we get to that part of the story, I will be sure to put a warning. Also if there is something else I can do in the formatting to make sure that when we get to that part, I am able to help not trigger anyone, please drop me a message, let me know. I don't want to hurt anyone.

Hyunwoo was convinced that their roommate was a little unhinged. 

Hyunwoo and his friend Minhyuk had been inseparable since they were children. While he was quiet and introspective, Minhyuk tended to be the life of the party. It would seem that their personalities would clash, but it was in fact the opposite. Hyunwoo forced Minhyuk to look at things seriously once in a while, while Minhyuk made Hyunwoo see the funnier side of life. They both had applied for a study abroad course in the states and were accepted to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. 

While they were able to live in the same dorm, It wasn’t just them. The program they were a part of encouraged branching out and meeting new people. The dorm they were housed in was one of the nicest on campus.Their room was a 4 bedroom suite. In the suite was Hyunwoo and Minhyuk, and their suitemates Jooheon and Maliah. 

Maliah was a surprise to everyone. Yes it was a co-ed dorm, but most people were under the impression that it was one floor men, one floor women. No, everyone was mixed up. At the beginning of the year there were some scuffles in other groups and some people had moved around, but their little cohort had remained. 

Jooheon, Minhyuk, and Hyunwoo took to each other very well, hanging out and studying together. Minhyuk and Jooheon like to attend the campus parties from time to time. Hyunwoo tagged along occasionally, but was mostly left to his own devices on those nights. He spent a lot of time studying at the agriculture lab on campus. 

Maliah never really spoke to them other than a hello or a goodbye. They tried to do something as a group and instituted a game night, but on those nights she never came back to the dorm until late in the night when everyone else was sleeping. She never had friends stop over, and when she was at the dorm her door was closed. 

Confusing Hyunwoo even further was the fact that she left little to no trace of herself behind. They knew she cooked in the tiny communal kitchen, because they smelled it, but if you went in after her, it was as if no one had ever been in there. When they got close to her, she didn’t smell, but never left anything in the bathroom to indicate she showered. Not even her toothbrush decorated the room like everyone else.

“Do we just actually have three roommates and live with a ghost only we can see?” Hyunwoo asked Minhyuk. 

“Why would it just be us three to see the ghost?” Minhyuk asked over his psychology textbook. “Also, she isn’t really haunting. She’s hardly ever here.”

Jooheon looked at both of them. “She’s here all the time guys. She’s just sneaky with it.” 

Hyunwoo and Minhyuk looked at him. 

He paused the game he was playing. “You guys realize that our schedules are similar in times right?”

They nodded.

“Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we are all out of the dorm from about 7am-4pm. None of us come back here for lunch or anything because we are nowhere near the dorm.”

It was true. Hyunwoo was an agriculture major, so he spent the majority of his time in the labs. Minhyuk was in poly sci. His buildings were in the opposite direction of campus along with Jooheon, who was in business law. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Hyunwoo asked. 

Jooheon smiled. “Skip your second class tomorrow and come back here to the dorm. Don’t mention that you are going to do it, just come back. She’s here, and she’s… well, you’ll see. 

Minhyuk tried to pester Jooheon into what he saw, but Jooheon wouldn’t relent. “You want to see, you’re going to have to show up. I give her space because I think I embarrassed her, but maybe if she understands we aren’t judging her, she’d be a little friendlier.”

“Do you guys even know her major?” Hyunwoo asked.

Jooheon and Minhyuk shook their heads. 

The door to the dorm opened and Maliah stepped in. 

She was short. They weren’t entirely sure how short she was as she seemed to slouch to make herself smaller. She had big brown eyes that sat behind glasses that covered her eyebrows. She was always in a baggy sweatshirt, even baggier jeans, and a hat over long twisted hair that stretched down her back. The only bit of skin you could ever see was her face and hands. Her skin was dark brown and from what they could see on her face she had a sprinkling of tiny moles that looked like freckles. 

“Oh. Hi.” She gave a small wave as she headed to her room and shut the door. There was complete silence from the room after. 

Hyunwoo didn’t know why he was so curious about her. He felt it was normal. I mean they shared a small space right? Why not get to know people? Was she scared of them? Did she not like them? Did they smell? He began to surreptitiously sniff his armpits when he saw Minhyuk giving him a weird stare. 

Jooheon was playing his game again when he glanced at his watch. “Do you guys want to go get dinner, and maybe some ice cream at Brady Hall? There’s always tons of girls milling around.”

Minhyuk snorted. “It’s the all girls dorm. Of course there are girls milling around. I'm game though.” Minhyuk and Hyunwoo began to close their books and stand up. Taking a chance, Hyunwoo walked the short distance across the room and knocked on the door.  
“Um, we’re going to dinner and wanted to know if you wanted to join us?” He called out tentatively. 

“No thank you, I already ate.” Was the reply that came from behind the door. 

Hyunwoo shrugged and left with everyone else to go eat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have quite a bit of this story written, but as I was writing the other day, I realized I made a mistake early on. This caused me to work on this chapter today in order to fix it. If anything doesn't sound right to you, please let me know, as this is unbeta'd. Let's try and meet Maliah today, shall we?

  
When they arrived back at the dorm, full of ice cream and laughter from flirting with the girls, it was still quiet. But Hyunwoo smelled something in the air. It was almost sweet. He looked over at Maliah’s door and it was cracked, but the light was out. She was gone. 

“Mario Kart?” Jooheon held out controllers for both of them. Minhyuk and Hyunwoo accepted and hunkered down for a few matches. After a while Hyunwoo retired to his room to read a few more chapters before succumbing to sleep. 

He awoke in the middle of night, disoriented and thirsty. Reaching for his glasses, he put them on and walked into the common area. As he turned on the light, he saw a foot going into Maliah’s room. The foot had on the highest shoe with the thinnest heel he’d ever seen. The door quickly clicked shut. Staring at her door, he registered that sweet scent again. It was almost perfume-like but was fainter than a perfume would be. “What is that?” He whispered aloud. Shrugging, he went into the kitchenette to get a glass of water and return to his room. 

The next day everyone headed off the class. Hyunwoo watched the clock steadily, something he never did before. When his class finally released he booked it back to the dorm. At the entrance of the dorm stood Minhyuk talking to a classmate. He caught sight of Hyunwoo and walked over. 

“Shouldn’t you be on the other side of campus?” Hyunwoo quipped. 

“Jooheon had me curious too. What on earth could she be doing?”

“Let’s go find out.” With that both men walk into the dorm and up the three flights of stairs to their suite. As they got closer to their door they heard noises. Standing in front of the door it sounded like singing. It was loud, but it was in tune. Hyunwoo put his key in the lock, turned and opened the door. 

In the middle of the common area was Maliah. Her jeans and sweatshirt were gone and she was in the shortest shorts Hyunwoo had ever seen. She had on a white tank top and her back was facing them. She had a pair of sparkly headphones on and was belting out a song. The sweet smell was back. 

“Do you smell something sweet?” Hyunwoo asked Minhyuk.

“Shh. Listen.” They closed the door quietly as she sang and danced around the common areas. 

𝐿𝑒𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝑔𝑜

𝒞𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊

𝐹𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒹𝑜 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑜

𝒞𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝒷𝑜𝒹𝓎 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎, 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓂𝑒, 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓌𝑒

𝒩𝑜 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹, 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝒾𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓃𝑜 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓃𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓋𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈, 𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝐼'𝓂 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝐼𝓉'𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓀, 𝐼 𝓅𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉

𝒢𝑜𝓃𝓃𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒, 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝓈 𝓈𝑜 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

She did a turn and her eyes widened as she saw them. 

Minhyuk was struggling not to laugh.

Hyunwoo was gawking and noticed she didn’t have on a bra. 

Slowly sliding the headphones off her head she looked at them. “Um. Hi. Bye.” And made a beeline to her room. 

“Wait a minute, WAIT!” Minhyuk made a move to get in front of her, but she was too fast. Hyunwoo blocked her door quickly and felt her chest brush up against his. He smelled that sweet smell again, and realized it was her. 

Clearing his mind he spoke. “We were just curious about you and came back to the room to ask you to lunch. We’re sorry to have scared you.” He came up with this by the seat of his pants, but Minhyuk was nodding, corroborating his story. 

“I-it’s okay, if you could just...move please.” She tried to edge around Hyunwoo. He wanted to hold firm, but looking at Minhyuk he realized that he was blocking a woman from accessing what she felt was safety. He quietly moved aside and Maliah rushed into her room, shutting the door. 

Minhyuk looked at Hyunwoo. “It was worth a shot. I’m gonna head to lunch and my next class. You coming?”

“N-no. I think I am going to just study for the day. Here. In the dorm.” Hyunwoo kept babbling. 

Minhyuk stared at him strangely, but nodded and soon left. 

Hyunwon sighed, and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Pausing for a minute he opened his mouth. 

“We really didn’t mean to scare you, you know. We just thought it would be nice to get to know you.”

Silence greeted him. 

He cleared his throat and continued. “My name is Hyunwoo, but you know that already I think. Minhyuk and I are from Korea. We went to the same school and applied here together. We have been friends a really long time. We wanted to see America, and this was our opportunity to do so. We are here on scholarship. What about you?”

Silence behind the door. Then…

“I’m on scholarship too.” Her voice was quiet. 

Hyunwoo wanted to jump for joy, but he got the feeling if he made any sudden loud movements, she would stop talking. 

“I’m here for agricultural science,” he continued. “I want to be a farmer back home. I like living in the country. It’s peaceful. There is a lot to do in the city, but there is nothing like seeing the stars and hearing nothing but nature around you.”

He went quiet for a while and waited. She didn’t say anything. Standing up, he brushed himself off. “I have to go now, I have my lab this afternoon. Sorry again if we startled you.”

With that he headed off to his lab. Arriving to class he sat next to his Biology lab partner, Casey. She had always been kind to him, offering her notes, asking to eat lunch together, or just hang out after class. She was quite pretty with green eyes, freckles, and straight brown hair. But something about her didn’t feel quite right to Hyunwoo. Still, he was pleasant in class and worked with her during the labs. 

She saw him and tossed her long hair over her shoulder and smiled at him. “My sorority is having a party this evening. You should come.” 

“Yeah, I don’t go out much. It isn’t my thing.” He opened his textbook and tried to get focused. 

“Well I know you have roommates, We could all hang out with my friends, that is much quieter.” She smiled at him.

He smiled back weakly, not responding. It felt like every week he was pushed to see her outside of class. The teacher finally started class and they got to work. Despite his misgivings of her as a person, Casey was a great lab partner. She was super focused and did not shirk her share of the dissection duties. Class ended and he nearly ran out the room before she could ask for his phone number again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Maliah was singing is Just Fine by Mary J. Blige. May I suggest you listen to it when you need a brighter mood?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've not been around, I know. I'm sorry. Again, this is unbeta'd.

When he got back to the dorm Jooheon and Minhyuk were watching tv and chatting quietly. Hyunwoo glanced over at Maliah’s door and saw it was closed. Jooheon looked up. “Min told me you two saw her.”

“Yeah, how did you know what she would be doing?” Hyunwoo asked. 

“Because I walked in on the same thing accidentally,” he took a bite of an apple. “She was dancing around and singing, turned around, saw me, and ran in her room. I think she does it while we are gone, as her classes are on Tuesday and Thursday mostly.” 

Hyunwoo changed the subject to his lab experiments. For the past year he’d been hybridizing a strain of lavender that was hearty enough to grow throughout the winter. He wasn’t particularly interested in lavender, but it was a difficult plant to grow, and the knowledge he was gaining from it would help him out immensely at home. After a few questions, Jooheon stood up and stretched. 

“I’m going to the gym to work out. Do you two want to come?” Minhyuk nodded and went into his room to change while Hyunwoo shook his head. “I want to study some more.”

“Do you want us to bring you back dinner? We’ll probably head to the diner.”

“Yes. Can you bring me back two bacon cheeseburger meals. Both with fries please?” Hyunwoo requested. 

“That is a lot of food.” Jooheon noted. 

Hyunwoo shrugged. “I know.”

Minhyuk appeared and together they left.   
Hyunwoo went to his room, and was surprised to see a note taped to his door. The paper was thicker than notebook paper, creamy in color and rough in texture. Unfolding the note, he saw, well, him. Hyunwoo wasn’t an arrogant man, but he knew women found him attractive, especially when he took off his glasses. He didn’t really understand the hype. Yes he was tall, and he thought he had a nice smile, but so did many other people. 

It looked like a drawing done in pencil. The sketch showed angular cheekbones, curious eyes fringed by dark lashes, Glasses perched upon a strong nose, and full lips. In the drawing he looked as if it were observing someone. Is this how he looked at her?

Hyunwoo waited a beat before settling next to Maliah’s door. 

“I am not sure how much you can hear in your room, but I just wanted to apologize again for catching you off guard. We were just curious.”

He paused, waiting for her to say anything. When nothing was spoken he continued. “I wanted to thank you for the drawing. You have amazing talent. I don’t really see myself the way you drew me though.”

Suddenly he had an idea. 

“I am not sure if it is hard for you to speak, or if you don’t want to speak. But if you would like me to go away you could knock twice. If you want me to continue talking, you could knock once. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you wanted me to go away. I understand people need space sometimes.”

He paused and waited. 

He heard a singular soft knock. 

Smiling, he continued talking. “I am really glad we got selected for this campus. There are lots of green areas for me to explore and wander around. In our major there is actually a field that has lots of flowers. We were told in a couple weeks, we’ll be allowed to go and harvest seeds in the field. The only rule is we have to give up half of what we harvest so that they are able to replant again in the spring. There are some I would love to send home, but we aren’t really allowed to send seeds out of the country.” He stood up and walked to the kitchen to get a soda. Coming back, he sat back down. “One of my favorite flowers out there is actually a bush. A big blue peony bush. I think the flowers on it are very pretty. I am going to try and get the seeds from it, so I can study it some more. Maybe one day you could tell me what your favorite flower is.” He looked down at his soda can. “I have to go make some phone calls and do a little homework. I will talk to you later.”

Hyunwoo got up and headed into his room, being sure to close the door to give her space. He wondered if she was just nervous to talk to them or was it everyone. She never brought any friends back to the dorm. But they didn’t really either. He was happiest hanging with Jooheon and Minhyuk. He had friends in his class, but no one he’d really want to spend time with outside of class. He called his parents and spoke briefly before he started working on homework. There was a light tap at his door. Opening it, he saw Jooheon with a couple of styrofoam boxes. 

“We’re going to head over to the frat row. There are apparently parties tonight. Want to come?” 

Hyunwoo shook his head. Jooheon knew he would say no, but he always asked. Hyunwoo felt awkward in groups and didn’t really talk much unless you truly knew him. 

After saying goodbye, Hyunwoo crossed the common area and tapped on the door lightly.   
“When I had them get me dinner, I asked them to get me an extra sandwich for you. If you want it, you are welcome to it. I’ll set it outside your door. I’m going to watch tv and eat. You are welcome to join me. We don’t have to talk, but it’s sometimes nice to share a meal with someone. You are also welcome to eat in your room of course. I’m just trying to say there are no strings attached to the food.” He set the container by her door and walked away. He turned on the tv to Jeopardy, just loud enough so she could hear he walked away and held his breath. 

He heard the door open quietly and exhaled. He heard slow footsteps heading towards him. He glanced over and saw her. Her twists were piled on top of her head in a bun. She had on a different pair of glasses that didn’t completely cover her face. They were tortoiseshell on top and rimless on bottom. Her eyes, not meeting his, were large and dark brown, almost black. She had on a simple black t-shirt, jeans that fit tight on her tiny waist and flared out at the leg. Her feet, which could barely be seen under the pant legs, were covered in striped mismatched socks. 

He glanced at her briefly and looked away just in case she was nervous. 

“Feel free to sit wherever you feel comfortable.” He ate a fry and tried to pay attention to the game show. He smelled the scent again. He wanted badly to ask her what she was wearing that smelled like that, but hesitated. She relaxed slightly and opened her box and looked down. 

“Thank you.” It came out softly but he heard it loud and clear. 

“You’re welcome.”

They both ate quietly and watched the game show. Hyunwoo loved game shows and random trivia facts. He got the greatest jolt of glee when he got an answer correct. He noticed Maliah hiding a smile when he wiggled as he got answers correct. 

“I know it may seem silly, but I learned a lot of my English from shows like this.”

“If it means a lot to you, it’s never silly,” she said quietly, eating a fry. Suddenly she got up. He was scared she was going to leave, but instead walked into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water. She walked back to her seat, slowly sliding one of the bottles towards him. 

“Thank you.”

She nodded and returned her attention back to her fries. 

“Can I ask what your major is?” Hyunwoo prodded gently. 

“Uh, Psychology. With an emphasis on art and music therapy.” She swallowed her food and opened and closed her mouth. She took a breath and opened again. “Art helps me. I believe it can help other people.”

He nodded and they went back to the show. After about an hour there was a commotion in the hall and jingling of keys. She looked at the door and looked at him helplessly. 

“I understand. Go on. I’ll talk to your door later.” He smiled. 

She ran to her room without a backwards glance and shut the door. Jooheon and Minhyuk came through the door talking loudly. They weren’t alone. A girl with white blond hair, red crop top, and tiny black skirt was on Minhyuk’s arm. They went directly to Minhyuk’s room, shutting the door behind them. Jooheon looked at Hyunwoo cleaning up the trash on the coffee table and decided to help. 

“Looks like you two had fun.” Hyunwoo noted. 

“That girl latched onto him as soon as he came through the door. I think they are in a couple of classes together.” He looked closer at the mess. “Did you have company? I thought you were going to eat both meals, but there are also two half drank bottles of water here.”

Hyunwoo’s ears burned red. “Yes, just a classmate. They came over and we ate and talked a little about some trouble they are having in one of our classes.”

Jooheon was confused about his embarrassment. “You know you are welcome to have people over at any time right? We all do. Well, most of us.” He glanced at Maliah’s door. 

Hyunwoo nodded and it was dropped. They finished up cleaning and both of them retired to their room. As he got dressed for bed, the image of Maliah in her shorts and tank top, braless came unbidden to him. Climbing into bed, he felt himself get hard as he allowed himself to remember how her long delicate neck looked. Grasping his hard cock, he began to slowly stroke himself, building up his orgasm. 

“Oh god,” he moaned as came. Instantly he felt guilty. She wasn’t his girlfriend, or even anyone he’s seeing. She’s his roommate, and is obviously quite skittish around people. He grabbed a towel to clean up and went to sleep, vowing not to use her in that way again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: I am so sorry. Part of the story got cut off! Please re-read!

The next morning he got up and gathered his things to take a shower. When he opened his door, a note was attached. Opening it up there was a drawing of a daisy and a sprig of lavender in a x pattern. Both flowers were incredibly detailed and delicately painted with watercolor paints.

Hyunwoo walked back into his room and pulled out both pieces of paper that she had left him. Opening the armoire in his room, he slid out a small box. Rummaging around in his desk drawer, he found his keys. On the ring of keys there was a smaller and fancier looking key that differed from the key to their suite or his room. Using it, he unlocked the box. Peering in, he saw the plane tickets that brought him to Purdue’s campus, along with the ticket from the first bus ride he took there. Other momentos as well as pictures of his family lived in the box as well. He delicately set her notes on top and locked the box once more. Heading out to the bathroom he saw the blond girl sitting on their couch with Minhyuk’s shirt on. 

“Hello,” she purred, staring at him. Hyunwoo had on the shorts he slept in and nothing else. His frame was broad, and though he hadn’t been on his family’s farm in a while, he still had the muscles to show for his hard work. He nodded at her and crossed over to the bathroom. 

Glancing over at Maliah’s room he saw there was no light on, but the door was slightly opened, indicating she was gone for the day. Shutting the bathroom door he started to get ready for the day. When he left the bathroom, Minhyuk had joined the woman on the couch and was basically on top of her, with his tongue down her throat. 

Hyunwoo cleared his throat. “Min, could you ah, take that anywhere else but here?”

Minhyuk looked up and smiled lazily. “Sorry.” Grabbing her hand, he yanked her back to his room. 

Hyunwoo rolled his eyes as he left the suite. His course load was light today and he didn’t have class until the late afternoon, but he wanted to go to the mall. Taking the bus, it was going to take a bit of time. He caught a bus outside of the dorm and looked up the route he needed to take. Two transfers and a confusing conversation with a random man on the bus, he arrived at the mall and made his way to the stationery store. 

The store was quiet when he went in. Walking around he saw greeting cards, notecards, and journals. He backed up when he saw the journals. 

“Can I help you sir?” An older woman appeared. 

“Do you have journals that have paper in it that you can draw on?” 

The woman thought for a minute before walking down further. Hyunwoo followed. 

“This is one of my favorite journals. It’s simple but pretty.” She handed him a simple leather journal. The leather was soft and wrapped around the paper that was then stitched within it and tied closed. Opening it up he touched the paper. It was the same texture as the paper he’d received from her. It felt a bit thinner though. If she couldn’t paint on it, maybe she could draw. He nodded and smiled gratefully at the woman. 

“These types of journals are nice in the fact that when you are finished with the pages, you snip the stitching here,” she pointed to the spine, “pull out the paper and you can find someone to stitch new paper into it. If you need anything else, My name is Barb, I’ll be around unpacking stock.” With that, Barb walked off. 

Tucking the journal under his arm, he kept walking until he got to the letter writing materials. Looking around he felt a little overwhelmed until he saw it. Over in the corner of the stand was cream colored paper with a daisy printed on the top. He also saw some with lavender scattered across the top. Selecting both boxes he marched his purchases to the front with Barb. After paying he went to wait for the bus to get back to campus. Opening the door to the dorm, Minhyuk was thankfully by himself. A quick glance over and he saw that Maliah was still gone.

“Min, um. The girl you brought home last night.” Hyunwoo began. 

Minhyuk paused his game and waited. 

“She has a sorority sister named Casey. Who is my lab partner.”

“Yeah, I saw her at the party last night. She asked about you and why you weren’t with us.”

“About that. She’s been trying to get me to see her outside of class, and I am just not interested. I think she feels you…” Hyunwoo hesitated.

“Sleeping with.” Minhyuk supplied.

“Sleeping with her friend,” Hyunwoo continued, “provides a reason for us to get together outside of class. I’ve turned her down numerous times and she isn’t getting the hint. Please don’t put me in a position to hang out with her.”

“I won’t, but Hyunwoo, you’ve barely done anything but go to classes the entire time we’ve been here. I’ve never seen you chat up a girl. You don’t go out, you don’t really live your life. You study, you watch tv, you go play in the greenhouses.”

“I go out with you and Jooheon occasionally. I just don’t like parties. I like when we go out and bowl, or go eat, or any other activity that doesn’t involve large quantities of alcohol, half drunk people, and loud music.” He walked over to his room to dump his bag. “I just don’t feel the need to party hard. I’d rather read, or play a game, or even study.”

“That reminds me, Jooheon said you had company over the other day? How did that go? What did you do?”

“It was nothing, just a classmate helping with some concepts I didn’t understand.” Minhyuk looked at him. Jooheon wouldn’t have caught it, because they hadn’t been friends long, but Hyunwoo and Minhyuk had been friends since they were children and he knew when Hyunwoo was telling a lie. His ears burned red. 

“You know,” Minhyuk stared at his best friend, “I could warm myself from the heat coming from your ears.”

Hyunwoo’s face began to heat as well. 

“If you need me to keep a secret, you know I can.” Minhyuk waited. 

“Maliah came out and watched Jeopardy with me and ate dinner.” Hyunwoo said quietly. “I don’t want to make her feel weird or awkward.”

“Did you guys talk? What did she say? Are you two friends?” Minhyuk fired questions at him.

“We watched a show together. That’s all.” Minhyuk didn’t need to know about the talking outside her door.

Just then the door to the suite opened and Maliah walked through. Hyunwoo felt his eyes pop out of his face. She was dressed in a simple black dress that went right above her knees with her twists piled on her head in a bun. High heels make her short legs longer. She had on a light dusting of makeup. She looked over to where they were and paused.

“H-hi.” She said quietly.

“Hi.” The boys responded. 

She nodded and headed towards her room, shutting the door. 

Glancing at Hyunwoo who was staring at her door. Minhyuk muttered to himself. “I don’t really think that was all.”

Hyunwoo made excuses to study and headed into his room. Pulling out the journal and the paper he purchased, he sat at his desk and began to write. 

**Maliah,**

**Your artwork is beautiful. The daisy and the lavender seemed to leap off the page. Did you draw the lavender because you heard me talking about it, or are both your favorite?**

**I didn’t think I would learn all I have about flowers in my courses. I thought it would mostly be agriculture based crops like corn, wheat, rice, and hay. I do enjoy learning about them and when I do start my farm I hope to have a little side garden full of flowers.**

**I was at the mall and saw this journal and thought you may find some use for it with your drawings. Things that are beautiful should always have a nice place to be stored.**

**I hope this isn’t overstepping a boundary, if it is, please let me know. The day we heard you singing, you seemed so scared. Is there something we have done to make you nervous? All of us are really nice people. At least, we try to be.**

**This has gotten to be longer than I wanted. Please enjoy the journal. I hope to talk to you soon.**

**-H**

  
  
  


He sealed the note in the envelope, tucked the envelope into the ties of the journal and opened his door. Minhyuk was gone and Maliah’s door was shut. Jooheon was nowhere to be seen. Hyunwoo crossed over to the closed door, set his present down, knocked lightly on the door and walked back to his room and shut the door. He opened his books and his laptop and began working on his lab report. After a while he heard the front door shut. He was tempted to open his door, but he really needed to get his work done. 

After working for hours, there was a knock at his door. Pulling his glasses off of his face and wiping his eyes, he opened it to see Jooheon and Minhyuk. “Have you eaten?” Jooheon asked.

“No, I’ve been working on this report.” 

“Do you want to come with us? Do you have enough done?” Minhyuk asked. 

“Yeah, I think so.” Turning his light off, he left his door cracked. Looking over, he saw Maliah’s door shut. He glanced over at Minhyuk, who was looking at him guiltily.

“What’s wrong?” Hyunwoo asked.

“Ashley is joining us for dinner.”

“Who is Ashley?” Hyunwoo asked, confused. 

“The girl that was here the other night.”

Hyunwoo froze. “Is...Casey with her?”

“I asked her not to bring anyone.” Minhyuk said.

Hyunwoo relaxed. “That’s fine Min, I have no problems eating with other people, it’s just that Casey… She’s nice in class, but there is something about her that doesn’t feel quite right.”

They arrive at Ashley's dorm and Casey is waiting with her. Hyunwoo eyeballed Minhyuk. 

“It’s fine. She promised.” Minhyuk said. 

Before any of them could say a word Ashley began speaking. “Hi Minny! I know I said it would just be me, but Casey was working on a lab report and just needed a break.”

Jooheon and Hyunwoo looked at each other and mouthed “Minny!?”

Minhyuk saw what Ashley was doing, but she was playing checkers with someone who is playing chess. “That’s fine. Hyunwoo isn’t staying. He just walked with me to pick up food. He’s busy working on something as well, and just wanted to get out to clear his head. Jooheon will be staying though.”

Jooheon smirked, his dimples showing. 

Casey started grasping at straws. “Are you working on the lab report? Maybe we can work on it together?”

Hyunwoo looked at her. She was smart, beautiful, and by all accounts nice. But something wasn’t sitting right in his soul with her. “Ah no, this is some work for my other classes. Excuse me.” with no other words, he walked into the dorm and the dining hall, filling two styrofoam containers before paying and walking out. 


	5. Chapter 5

Back in their suite he noticed Maliah’s door was cracked and the light was out, meaning she was gone. Sighing, he put the extra box in the fridge and headed to his room. He was happy to see a note on his door.

Pulling it off, it felt heavy. When he unfolded it, a packet of seeds fell out. Picking it up, it was a packet of blue peony seeds. His heart lurched. Opening the sheet fully he gasped. She had painted a beautiful blue peony, with the bloom so heavy the stem was bending, and petals were falling. It looked so real. Below it, written in a beautiful calligraphic script was a small poem. 

_ I am—yet what I am none cares or knows; _

_ My friends forsake me like a memory lost: _

_ I am the self-consumer of my woes— _

_ They rise and vanish in oblivious host, _

_ Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes _

_ And yet I am, and live—like vapours tossed _

_ Into the nothingness of scorn and noise, _

_ Into the living sea of waking dreams, _

_ Where there is neither sense of life or joys, _

_ But the vast shipwreck of my life’s esteems; _

_ Even the dearest that I loved the best _

_ Are strange—nay, rather, stranger than the rest. _

_ I long for scenes where man hath never trod _

_ A place where woman never smiled or wept _

_ There to abide with my Creator, God, _

_ And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept, _

_ Untroubling and untroubled where I lie _

_ The grass below—above the vaulted sky. _

_ Thank you for the journal. I will make use of it. I like both daisies and lavender. Daisies for their beauty in simplicity and lavender for it’s scent. I hope you have your garden one day Hyunwoo. You make the country sound like the most beautiful place on earth. And I didn’t draw you more attractive than you are. I drew you as you are, inside and out.  _

_ -M _

  
  


Hyunwoo walked into his room and scrawled a quick note on the lavender printed paper, letting her know he picked up extra food that she was welcome to in the fridge and went to tape it on her door. He went to put it on her door and stopped. Staring at the note for a long time, he turned around and added one more line to the note.

_ Are you free on Saturday? I would like to show you some place special to me.  _

_ -H _

He held his breath as he taped it to her door. Walking back into his room, he read the poem again. He understood the words, but not exactly what it was saying. Opening his laptop, he set an appointment for the writing lab tomorrow. He locked the poem in his box and sat out front to watch a movie and eat his dinner. 

Minhyuk sent him a text apologizing about what happened and that he probably won’t be seeing Ashley anymore. He also asked Hyunwoo to stay up because there was something he and Jooheon wanted to talk to him about. 

Hyunwoo wouldn’t be able to go to sleep, even if he wanted to with that proclamation. He spent time re-reading the poem and trying to figure it out. 

_‘I am- yet what I am no one cares or knows’_ was the first line of the poem. Does this mean she doesn’t have anyone to care about her? Does she not have a family that cares for her? He’d never been in her room, nor had he looked in, so he didn’t know if she had pictures of her family up. He kept small framed photos of him and his family as well as him and Minhyuk. He loved his little family dearly and they were close. Even Minhyuk and him had a special bond. Everyone in his life he was loyal to without thought. Was anyone loyal to her?

He heard the door open and lots of noise. Minhyuk knocked and opened his door before he could say “come in.” 

Jooheon and Minhyuk plopped on the bed. THey looked at each other and then looked at Hyunwoo. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Casey is…” Jooheon paused. “Casey is in love with you.”

Hyunwoo blinked. “What?”

Minhyuk started to talk. “She kept going on about how she realizes you're shy and just need someone to lead you and how you two belong together.”

“That isn’t love!” Hyunwoo sputtered. “That's an obsession, and I am not equipped to deal with that. We barely talk in class. I avoid all her advances and focus on work!” 

“Yeah, Ashley hadn’t heard her go on at that level before and after Casey left she apologized profusely. But I specifically told her that Casey made you uncomfortable and she didn’t listen, so I won’t be seeing her anymore. Even though she did this thing with her tongue and It-”

“Min!” Hyunwoo turned scarlet. 

Jooheon glanced at him. “He talks about this all the time. Why are you so bashful about it? Haven’t you...”

“Yes, but, it’s personal stuff to me.”

He’d had sex before, but he wasn’t as experienced as Minhyuk. He was shy and sometimes felt awkward in his body. Having someone touch him was the last thing he wanted when he felt like that. While he did miss being with someone, sex was more of a big deal for him than his friends. Minhyuk respected that and didn’t tease him about it. 

“You may want to talk to your lab teacher about switching partners,” Jooheon said seriously. “She’s fairly convinced you two will end up in a relationship. That isn’t all. She got really weird when you left. Like she was furious but trying to hide it.”

Hyunwoo nodded. 

“Do you guys want to watch a movie?” Minhyuk asked. 

“Yes, just give me a few moments. I’ll be out shortly.” Hyunwoo said. Jooheon and Minhyuk left arguing over what to watch. 

Opening his laptop he sent a message to his bio lab teacher. Explaining the situation as best as he could, he sent the message and closed his laptop, ready to join the other two. Walking into the shared space, he noticed Maliah’s door was closed and the note was gone. He hoped he hadn’t been too forward with her. He settled into movie night with his friends. 

As the credits rolled, Minhyuk and Jooheon went into their rooms. Hyunwoo cut the tv, and walked over to Maliah’s door. He took his space on the floor and called softly. “Maliah, are you there?”

There was a pause and he heard a soft knock.

“You are a very talented artist.” He laughed softly. “I say that as if I know what art truly is. I know that what you draw is beautiful. The peony should be framed if I am honest.” He looked out at the common area. “I hope I didn’t overstep my bounds, buying ou the journal. I saw it, and just thought your art would enhance it.”

She spoke, muffled through the door. “It is beautiful, thank you. Also, I am free on Saturday. May I ask where you want to take me?”

“There is this park. It’s small, but there are a lot of daisies there and a little pond. I think you’d like it. It’s quiet. You could bring a sketchbook if you’d like.”

It was quiet for a long time, and Hyunwoo thought she was refusing. All of a sudden the door opened. 

Scrambling to stand up, he startled her, and she backed up into her room. 

“Sorry!” he whispered. 

“It’s okay, I know I’m a little jumpy.” She said. “This isn’t a trick is it? You take me to some strange place and leave me or hurt me?”

“N-no. It’s just a nice space and I thought I would share it with you.” He was baffled. Why would he take her to a place just to abandon or hurt her?

She looked down at her feet. He looked down as well. She had on pajama pants and a sweatshirt. Her feet were bare and her nails were painted sparkly pink. He smelled that sweet smell around her again. 

“Okay.” She said.

“Okay?”

“Yes. What time do you want to go, and should I bring anything?” She looked up at him and he noticed her glasses were crooked. He wanted to straighten them but thought against it. 

“If we catch the bus at 10, it will put us there at 11:30. I thought I would make sandwiches for lunch, if that is okay?” He offered.

“Well, we don’t have to take the bus first of all, I have a car. Secondly, you’ve fed me twice now. I’ll take care of lunch. I have an idea.” She said softly. “Do you have anything you don’t like, or are allergic to?”

Hyunwoo shook his head. 

“Do you want to leave here at 11?” He asked. 

“Yes, that’s fine.” She started slowly backing into her room. 

“Goodnight Maliah.”

“Y-you can just call me Liah. Goodnight.” She closed the door softly. 

He listened close and heard music filtering softly through the door. Smiling to himself, he went to his room and closed the door quietly. Getting undressed for bed, he checked his email. He had a very quick email back from his lab professor. He approved the move and he would be moved to another table with another student. He sighed in relief. Flopping down in bed for the night, he reminded himself to ask what that smell was. Closing his eyes he chased dreamland instantly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poem is called I am, and is by John Clare.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am choosing to add another chapter because I also publish this fiction on another site, and somehow they got a chapter ahead. Enjoy!

Luckily for Hyunwoo, he did not have his lab on Friday. He just had 3 of his normal classes. After the last one, he headed to his appointment at the writing lab. His name was called by a tall man with long curly hair. 

“What can I help you with Hyunwoo?” The man asked pleasantly. 

“English isn’t my first language and while I understand it, there are sometimes nuances in writing I don’t get.”

The gentleman nodded, encouraging him to continue. 

Hyunwoo pulled out a sheet of notebook paper having meticulously copied the poem. He didn’t want anyone else touching the sheet she had given him for an inexplicable reason. “I don’t understand this poem basically and was wondering if you could help me decipher its meaning.” He handed the paper over. 

“Well, let’s start at the beginning.” The man said after he read the poem. “The name of the poem is called ‘I Am’ and it is by a man named John Clare. The man pulled up information on his laptop and turned it around to face Hyunwoo. 

“He wrote this when he was sick. He was in an asylum and was writing about his loneliness.” The first stanza talks about his love of the beauty of the world and how he will find peace in it when he dies.”

Hyunwoo looked at the man alarmed. 

The man continued. “The second stanza talks about how he feels alienated from his friends and family as he was in the asylum. The final stanza talks about how he hopes there is an afterlife.” He looks at Hyunwoo. “It’s a profound poem. It’s sad, but uplifting in its hope I think.

Hyunwoo looked at the screen for a minute before looking at the man. “If...If someone were to give you this poem as a way of knowing them, what would you think they were trying to tell you?”

The gentleman sighed and leaned back in his chair. Thinking quietly. “You’ll have to make your own thoughts on this, but what I get is this person was hurt. They are lonely and they hope that one day the loneliness ceases, through life or through death.”

It was quiet while Hyunwoo took that in. “Do you think the person could be suicidal?” He ventured.

“I can’t comment on anyone’s mental situation Hyunwoo. They may be sad, but the rest of the answers to your questions are probably going to have to come from them.” 

Hyunwoo nodded, and thanked the man for his time. Heading back to the dorms, his head and his heart was heavy. What happened to make this woman so sad?

He stopped at the little convenience store on campus to pick up a pint of chocolate ice cream. Staring at the different flavors, he grabbed another pint of strawberry ice cream as well. Walking out of the store he ran into someone. 

“I’m sorry.” He looked down and saw Casey beaming up at him. “Oh. Hi.”

“Hey! I am so glad to have run into you.” She smiled at him. “We’re having a party tonight and I wondered if you wanted to come?”

Hyunwoo looked up to the sky for help from a deity he wasn’t even sure he believed in. “Casey I-”

“I’m also sorry you had to leave so quickly the other day. I was hoping to maybe have a meal with you.”

“Casey, look. You seem like a nice person, but I am not interested in dating or hanging out outside of class or any of it. I’m solely focused on my studies. I apologize if I ever led you to believe otherwise. 

It was brief, she hid it well, but Hyunwoo saw that flash of rage in her eye. She wasn’t used to not getting what she wanted. 

“I understand. No hard feelings?” Her smile was brittle. 

Hyunwoo nodded and sped back to his dorm. Opening the door Minhyuk was on the couch with Ashley again, trying to swallow her tonsils. Glancing over he saw Maliah’s door shut. “Min, can you help me real quick in my room?”

Minhyuk detached his face from Ashley’s and followed Hyunwoo into his room. “I thought you weren’t seeing her anymore?”

Minhyuk looked sheepish. “I wasn’t….then she did the thing with her tongue again.”

Hyunwoo rolled his eyes. “Look, I am not telling you who to date, that isn’t fair to you, but please be careful with her. I ran into Casey at the store and I told her I wasn’t interested. She looked mad, and not very satisfied with what I had to say. I don’t want trouble Min.” 

“The second there is a problem I will stop with her, but to be honest, I think she was embarrassed at her friend’s actions. I could also be mistaking her embarrassment into something I want to see just because I don’t want her to stop doing that thing with her tongue.” Minhyuk turned red. 

Hyunwoo snorted. “Can you take that into your room? It looks like you were one step from having your hand down her pants. We do have additional people that live here.”

Minhyuk nodded as he left. Hyunwoo heard his door shut and walked into the common area again. He tapped on Maliah’s door. “Liah? It is me, Hyunwoo. You don’t have to open the door, but I was at the store and I picked you up an ice cream when I grabbed one. I hope you like strawberry. I’ll be in my room reading if you need anything.” Setting the ice cream by her door he walked back in his room and left the door open. He rummaged around in his desk for the pulpy science fiction novel he’d been reading and was soon immersed with his ice cream. After a while Jooheon walked in the door. Peeking in Hyunwoo’s room, he saw him reading with an empty ice cream container on his nightstand. 

“Come workout with me.” Jooheon said. Hyunwoo nodded and got up to change. Closing his door and shedding his clothes, he changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. He wore a hat because after he finished working out, his hair usually stood up on his head. As they were heading out, Maliah’s door opened and she stepped out. Her hair was down today and she was in another short black dress. This time she had on hot pink heels. After she turned around from locking her door she jumped at seeing the two men. 

It was quiet before Jooheon spoke up. “You look nice.”

Maliah nodded her head and looked down. “They’re my work clothes,” she whispered. She slowly walked out of the door, but glanced back quickly at Hyunwoo. His ears turned red. 

Jooheon stared back and forth at the both of them, but didn’t say anything. He managed to keep silent on the walk to the gym, but pounced as soon as Hyunwoo started lifting weights.

“So, you want to tell me what that look back from Maliah was?”

Hyunwoo nearly dropped the weight. Nothing was really going on with him and Maliah, but he felt like he was on the verge of making a friend. He couldn’t understand why he was so hesitant to talk about it. Maybe it was because she seemed so leery of everything, and he didn’t want to break her trust. 

“She watched Jeopardy with me briefly. We didn’t really say anything. When it was done she went back to her room. That’s all.” 

“That’s more interaction than any of us have had.”

Hyunwoo quickly changed the subject to Minhyuk and Ashley. “How long do you think that is going to last?”

Jooheon started laughing and nearly slid off the bench. “As long as she does that thing with her tongue, Min might marry her.” They both cackled loudly. “I don’t think it’s truly serious. Ashley is fun, and Min has fun with her, but she isn’t what he is looking for long term I don’t think.”

Hyunwoo then told him about the interaction he had with Casey. 

Jooheon frowned. “Before she started acting weird like this, did you have any attraction to her at all?”

Hyunwoo shook his head. “No. I turned her down every single time she asked me to go somewhere or do something. She’s been perfectly nice, but it felt like the nice was just a mask. I know it sounds weird and I can’t explain it.”

But Jooheon shook his head. “You don’t have to explain it. Sometimes you get feelings about people that are either off putting or you feel drawn to them.”

As Hyunwoo stepped on the treadmill, he thought about what Jooheon said. He was drawn to Maliah, very much so. After going to the writing center to get her poem analyzed, he was even more curious. Was she hurting? Was she thinking of hurting herself? He tried to get his mind off of it and glanced over at Jooheon. 

“How are your classes going?” Jooheon smiled happily and began to speak about his classes. He was first generation Korean American and both Hyunwoo and Minhyuk were eternally grateful for his friendship. He was from Indianapolis and when he went home from time to time, he would take the both of them. His mother would fuss over all three of them, stuffing them with as much home cooking as she possibly could before heading back to the dorms. The last time they went, Hyunwoo presented her with some of the tulips he had forced grown in jars in one of the greenhouses. She loved the bright colors so much that he sent her a package of the bulbs. She made him miss his own mom very much. 

Jooheon never saw them as a burden, and the three of them melded together quite nicely. It was almost like he had two brothers. Or what he imagined what having brothers was like. Listening to Jooheon talk about torts (whatever they were) and how he caught his teacher up in a hypothetical, it gave him a quiet joy that his friend loved what he was doing. 

They finished up in the gym and Jooheon showered at the gym. Hyunwoo decided to wait until they got back to the dorm. He text Minhyuk to see if he wanted them to bring food. He indicated that he ordered Chinese, enough for all of them, so Jooheon and Hyunwoo headed back to the dorm. 

When they got their Hyunwoo was relieved to see Ashley was gone. “Yeah she said something about comforting Casey.” Min said, digging through a box of cashew chicken. Jooheon and Hyunwoo looked at each other. “I’ll be out in a bit, I am going to shower. Go ahead and start eating without me.” Hyunwoo said. Walking to his door he saw a note attached. Grabbing it as he walked in, he opened it as he shut his door. A red ripe glossy strawberry was drawn. At the bottom in her beautiful script she left a small note. 

_Strawberry is one of my favorite flavors. How did you know? What is your favorite animal?_

_-M_

Hyunwoo smiled and locked the note into his box. Grabbing his shower caddy and a towel he headed to the bathroom. While showering his stomach rumbled. He sped up his shower and remembered Liah’s legs in those heels.

Instant erection. 

Cursing himself he turned the water on cold, bringing his senses back. He’s been around women that were friends before, and never thought of them that way. He needed to get a grip. Finishing up his shower he realized he forgot to bring in clothes. He wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom as he heard Minhyuk’s voice.

“We ordered plenty, you are welcome to join us.”

“N-no thank you.” He heard Maliah say. 

She turned and with her head down walked right into Hyunwoo’s chest. She nearly fell but Hyunwoo steadied her with his hands on her arms. The sweet smell was permeating his senses along with the feel of her soft skin. He felt himself slowly getting hard again. 

He quickly removed his hands. “I’m sorry!”

It was as if Maliah’s brain short circuited. “I-it-it i-i-i-i-is o-o-o-ok.” She stuttered. He saw her begin to shake. 

“Are you okay?” He whispered. 

“I-I-I-I n-nuh-need t-t-to go.” And with that she went in her room and locked the door. 

Minhyuk, Hyunwoo, and Jooheon all stared at her door in astonishment. 

“Is she...Okay?” Jooheon said.

“I don’t know.” Hyunwoo whispered. He walked into his room, feeling awful. He hurriedly got dressed and stepped back out. Minhyuk and Joohoen were gathering up their food. When they saw Hyunwoo, Jooheon spoke up. “We’re going to give her some space, so she can calm down. We’re headed to the common area. Do you want to come? We’re going to play Scrabble. 

Hyunwoo shook his head. “I’ll go in my room if I am bothering her.”

They nodded and left him a container of fried rice and beef and broccoli before walking out of the door. 

Grabbing the two containers, a set of chopsticks and a fork, he sat outside her door. 

“You may not want to talk, and that’s okay, but I was a little worried for you. Is it okay if I sit beside your door?”

Almost immediately there was a soft knock.

He opened his carton of rice and began eating. “I’m sorry if I scared you. I didn’t mean to. We try to be courteous to the fact that a girl is living with us and carry our clothes in the bathroom when we go to shower. I just saw dinner and it completely slipped my mind.” He ate some rice as it was quiet on the other side. 

“Are you hungry?” He asked.

Another single soft knock sounded. 

“I have food out here. I know you feel comfortable in your room, but if you reach a hand out, we can trade boxes back and forth.”

It was quiet for a bit and he went back to eating his rice. He heard the soft click of the lock, and the door cracked open. He picked up the container of beef and broccoli and the fork and stuck it through the opening. He felt her grip it and he let go and pulled his hand back. She shut the door.

“There is a girl in my bio lab class. She’s...pushy. I tried every way to tell her I wasn’t interested in hanging out with her, but she wouldn’t take my saying no as an answer.” He put down his food. “When I went to get ice cream earlier she saw me in the store and tried again. I finally told her that I wasn’t interested and I wouldn’t be interested. It made me think of you. I just want to make sure that I am not forcing my company on you, or you feel guilty or bad so you let me talk with you.”

A note slid under the door on that thick and creamy paper. Hyunwoo unfolded the note. 

_You have always given me a choice on whether I communicate or not. It may not show, but I do like spending time with you. It’s just hard sometimes for me to communicate like everyone else._

“I’ll be right back.” He stood up and ran to his room to grab a pen and a book to write on. Sitting back down he began to write. 

_Do you still want to go to the park tomorrow? I understand if you don’t want to._

He slipped the paper back under the door and stood up again. Going to the fridge he pulled out two sodas. Knocking lightly on her door again he called out “Drink?”

She cracked her door and again he stuck his hand in with the soda. She lightly brushed her hand against his as she grabbed for it. He felt something inside him tug at her slight touch. She quickly closed the door. 

It was silent for a while as they ate. She slid the paper under the door. 

_You promise this isn’t a trick?_

He read the words and felt sad she had to ask. Something happened, but he didn’t know how to broach it. 

_I promise that it is not a trick. Also, my favorite animal is a cat. We have a cat on the farm at home that keeps the mice out of the barn._

Slipping the paper back under, he polished off half the rice. “Do you want to switch cartons? I’ve eaten half the rice, so you could have the rest.”

She opened the door and held out the carton. “I ate most of the broccoli out of it. I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s not a problem at all. I like the meat just fine. Are you a vegetarian? Should I have not bought you a burger?” He asked. 

“N-no, I e-e-eat meat. I really l-l-like veggies too.” She stuttered. It let him know she was still uncomfortable. He quietly traded her boxes so she could shut herself inside again. 

It was silent as he ate the bits of beef, desperately thinking of what to say. She slid the paper back out to him. 

_I’ll go. I’ll still bring lunch. Do you have any allergies?_

He finished eating and wrote his note.

_No, no allergies. I’m going to go to bed now and give you some peace. Thank you for hanging out with me. I can tell it was difficult._

He slid the note under the door and stood up to throw his carton away and wash his hands. When he came back the note was waiting for him. 

_It’s hard, but you don’t push. Thank you. Have a nice night, and I will see you in the morning._

He smiled as he took the note, storing it with the rest, before changing his clothes and heading to bed. 


	7. Chapter 7

When Hyunwoo woke, he was aware of two things. He fell asleep with his glasses on and his dreams last night consisted of Maliah and wondering how she sounded when she laughed. The screw had popped out of his glasses, rendering them useless until he could get them fixed. Unfortunately his glasses were not a fashion accessory. He could not see without them. 

Groaning into his pillow, he sat up and blindly searched for his toiletry bag. Digging around in it, he unearthed a few pairs of contacts. He thanked his past self for using a marker on each bottle letting him know which ones were right eyes or left eyes. Grabbing his clothes, he headed towards the bathroom. 

It was still early for a Saturday and there wasn’t a sound in the suite. Quickly closing the bathroom door he showered and got dressed for the day. Hyunwoo rarely contemplated what he wore. Jeans and a t-shirt, sometimes a sweatshirt if it was chilly, was his outfit of choice. He wondered if he should be wearing something different for this. But they were going to a park. He decided on comfort rather than anything else. Wearing jeans, and a long sleeved t-shirt with the school’s logo on it would be enough. Coming out of the bathroom, he nearly ran into Maliah again. 

“Hi.” He said quietly. She was in a tank top and pajama pants. He focused on her face.

“Hi.”

He was quiet for a moment when he had an idea. “Do you have anywhere to be this morning?”

“I-I w-w-was going t-t-t-” She stopped talking, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Focusing on his face she started again. “I was going to pick up lunch, but that’s it.”

“Would you want to get breakfast with me? You won’t hurt my feelings if you say no.” He wanted to offer her every opportunity to be comfortable. 

She twirled a twist around her finger as she considered. “Did you want to stay on campus to e-e-eat or l-l-l-leave?”

“I don’t know many food places off campus.”

“How about I take you somewhere for breakfast instead?” She offered. She didn’t stutter and she didn’t seem as nervous. 

Hyunwoo smiled at her and nodded. 

“Can you meet me out here? I-I-I have a thing about o-o-th-th-” He noticed her hitting her leg as she stuttered. Not thinking, he grabbed her hand. 

She snatched it back quickly. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you. You were hurting yourself.” He said quietly. 

“I know. You’re fine. I’ll just meet y-you out here.” With that she shut herself in the bathroom. 

Hyunwoo shook his head and walked into his room. Pulling down a duffle bag he began to load it. He put in a small blanket he kept for outdoor purposes, two books, earbuds, a splitter, and at the last minute a small notebook and pen. Zipping up the bag, he pulled a sweatshirt from his closet and walked into the common area and turned on the tv, waiting for her. Maliah walked out of the bathroom, dressed similar to him. She had on the dark colored jeans that he’d seen before. They were tight in her waist and thighs and flared out into a large leg. She had on black Doc Martens and a red long sleeved t-shirt. She carried with her a wicker basket that looked like a briefcase. 

“Are you ready?” she asked. She fiddled with her keys. He got up and followed after her silently. As they climbed down the stairs she looked at him. “We have to take the bus to the football stadium. It’s where my car is.” She said it clearly with no stuttering. 

He nodded and opened the door, letting her go out first. Standing near the street where the buses picked up, they waited quietly. It was early on a Saturday, so the only ones out were people doing the walk of shame from Friday night, and campus workers. After a while the bus picked them up and they headed towards the stadium. Arriving fairly quickly Hyunwoo followed her through the lines of cars until they got to a little white hatchback car. Unlocking it from a fob, Maliah opened the back door and put her basket in the back. Hyunwoo followed suit before climbing into the passenger seat. 

Maliah turned on the car and all of a sudden music blasted out of the speakers. 

_ I'm not here for your entertainment _

_ You don't really wanna mess with me tonight _

_ Just stop and take a second _

_ I was fine before you walked into my life _

_ 'Cause you know it's over, before it began _

_ Keep your drink just give me the money _

_ It's just you and your hand tonight _

She quickly turned down the music and glanced over at him. He looked a little shell shocked, and it caused her to burst into giggles. 

“I’m sorry, I listen to music a lot and typically can’t really blast it in the dorm room without disturbing everyone.” She smiled. With that she pulled off. She headed towards Lafayette and crossed the bridge that led to downtown. It was a short car ride and she ended up in a parking garage. 

Away from campus Hyunwoo noticed she relaxed more, she didn’t seem as if she was on her guard. Getting out of the car he began to walk beside her. Though the two of them were quiet, it wasn’t awkward. She led him across the street to a little diner. 

“Welcome, sit anywhere you like, and we will be with you in a moment,” a waitress with a sunny yellow shirt called out to them. Maliah looked at Hyunwoo and he gestured. “Please pick.” 

Maliah slid into a booth next to a large window. Hyunwoo slid in on the opposite side. “This is near my job, so I come here from time to time for lunch. The food is always good.” She said quietly. 

Opening the menu, Hyunwoo saw something outlined in bright yellow, called The Challenge. It was two biscuits, two sausages, two eggs, and large hashbrowns with cheese covered with sausage gravy. 

He was sold. 

“Would you consider splitting The Challenge with me?” He asked her. She scanned down the menu to read what it was and laughed. Her laughter made warmth fill his chest. It was bright and unrestricted. 

“If we eat all of that, we aren’t going to have room for lunch.” She said. 

“I’m a growing boy. I always have room for lunch.” He gave her puppy dog eyes. “If we split it, it won’t be as much food.”

She tried to hold back the laughter. “Did you not wear your glasses to specifically give me those eyes?”

Hyunwoo’s ears burned red. “I slept in my glasses by accident last night and broke them. I’ll have to get them repaired.”

Just then a waitress walked up with a coffee pot. They both turned their mugs over on the table, allowing her to pour in the fragrant brew. She asked for their order. Hyunwoo looked over at Maliah smiling. 

“W-we’ll have The Challenge please, eggs scrambled.” She closed her menu and handed it to the waitress. 

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She said quietly. 

It was silent for a beat before he spoke again. “You said your job is near here. What is it that you do?”

“I ac-actually have t-t-two jobs,” she took a deep breath before she started again. “I am an assistant curator for an art gallery around the corner. I also give basic guitar lessons in a therapist's office for music therapy.”

“Which job do you like best?”

“Music therapy.” She said without hesitation. “It’s closer to what I want to do with my life. Also, I don’t have to dress up. I keep the art job because it allows me to absorb art and learn more about it.”

Hyunwoo hesitated briefly before plowing forward. “Can I ask about your stutter?”

She looked startled. “It...I am not technically diagnosed with a stutter. I just get nervous sometimes and it comes out. If I can keep calm, it’s fine.” 

“Is there something I can do to make you less nervous around me? Or Min or Jooheon?”

She went silent for a moment, stirring cream in her coffee. “Have you ever looked in our dorm at the rooms that have co-ed suites?”

Hyunwoo shook his head. 

“Out of all of the rooms, there are only 7 that are co-ed like ours. Each of us, be it the men or the women, were put in the co-ed situation for a reason. We all had severe problems with our roommates and had to move out immediately.” She wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Liah I-”

“I’m not ready to talk about it. I don’t know if I ever will be. But I have a severe distrust of living with someone now. The main instigator of the events should have been expelled, kicked off campus. Instead I have a restraining order and they have to stay 50 feet away from me.” At this she looked at him. “I feel like I’m taking a risk even talking to you, and that’s why I tend to stutter more around you three. I’m terrified.” 

Just then a massive plate covered in gravy was set in between them. 

Maliah’s eyes widened. 

“This is a mess.”

Hyunwoo snickered. As they unwrapped their silverware he spoke up. “You don’t have to talk about what happened if you don’t want to. That’s your right. But all three of us are very nice, and wouldn’t judge. How about I tell you about us while we eat?”

Maliah nodded. In between bites of the delicious mess, Hyunwoo told her of growing up with Minhyuk and the scrapes they got into as children. He spoke of them both learning English from tv shows as well as studying. He told her how he was the first in his family to go to college. He talked about meeting Jooheon and how he took them under his wing and how they go home with him from time to time. 

“Are you from Indiana?” He asked, scooping a mouthful of sausage, egg and gravy into his mouth.

“Yes. I’m from Indianapolis.” She took a sip of coffee but didn’t say anything else. 

“It’s a big city, is there a chance you and Jooheon went to the same high school?” He ventured.

Maliah pulled out her phone and brought a map up of Indianapolis. “Do you know where he lives by chance?

Hyunwoo stared at the map and manipulated it to make it bigger. “There. Springmill road. By that park.”

She snorted. “No, we did not go to the same school. I lived in the city proper. I went to the I.P.S school district half my freshman year of high school, and got a scholarship for the rest of my years of high school to go to a private school.”

“You must be really smart to get a scholarship for both high school and college.”

She stared at him for a minute. Though it was unnerving, he met her gaze. It felt like a test of some sort. 

“Not as smart as you think. I’m just determined.”

“Determined to do what?” He pushed the plate away, full finally. 

She was quiet as she scraped the gravy from the food to unearth the hashbrowns. “To succeed, to not be poor, to help people.”

He seized on the last part. “Who is it you want to help?”

She smiled. “Everyone, but let’s start with underprivileged children of color. I want to expose them to art and music and show them different things they may not see in their lives. Using that, I want them to be able to create their own joy in the world.”

“That is an admirable goal.”

“It is a long way off. After undergrad I still have several years of schooling.” She looked up as the waitress dropped off their bill.

Hyunwoo was quicker than her and grabbed the bill. 

“I’m able to pay you know, the whole two jobs thing.” She pointed out. 

“So am I.” He said simply.

Hyunwoo’s scholarship provided for his every need, including a hefty monthly stipend. Because him and the guys split food costs evenly for the three of them, he often ended up with most of his stipend in the bank. He rarely bought clothes and had no need for a ton of material things. His secret weakness was books. He loved books. 

“Well, thank you.” She drained her coffee cup and Hyunwoo followed suit. Both of them slid out of the booth and headed to the front to pay. The owner was manning the cashier. 

“I’ve never seen you here for breakfast before, just lunch. Did you enjoy it? 

“It was very good. If I didn’t have to work after eating, I would order The Challenge.” She laughed as Hyunwoo handed over his card. After signing and leaving a tip they were getting ready to leave, when the man presented them with a bag. 

“I know you are probably full now, but these will taste good later. Just baked.” 

They both thanked the man and left the restaurant. Hyunwoo spoke up as they walked back to the car. “You must be a really good customer.”

“I eat here every time I work. The BLT has a ton of bacon on it and the tomatoes are always really good, even in the winter. It makes me wonder if he has a greenhouse or something.” They climbed into the car. As Hyunwoo fastened his seatbelt. She spoke again. “I need to pick up lunch, and then you can direct me to the park.” Pulling out of the garage, she went about three blocks before parallel parking in front of a plain building. There were no words on the front, and it had a red and white striped overhang. “You’re welcome to come in, but I will only be a moment.”

“I’ll stay here, thank you.”

She nodded and slid out, opening the back seat, she pulled her basket out and walked into the building. 

His phone had been vibrating constantly since they ate. Pulling it out, he saw he had 12 texts from Minhyuk, and 5 from Jooheon. Sighing, he called Minhyuk. 

“Where are you? I’ve been texting.” Minhyuk demanded. 

“I’m out running errands. What do you want?”

“We were going to breakfast, and you are never up this early.”

“I’ll be home after a while. Is that what Jooheon wanted?”

The back door of the car opened, and Maliah put the basket in.

“We thought you were ignoring my texts.”

As Maliah slid in the car, he got a whiff of her sweet scent again. “Min, I’ve never ignored your texts, why would I do that now? I’ll talk to you when I get back.” He disconnected the call and saw Maliah staring at him. 

“I don’t go out much by myself, except to maybe do laundry or the store. I also sleep late a lot, so my friends are baffled at the schedule change.”

She nodded “So you weren’t ignoring his texts?” 

“I kind of was, because I was talking with you, but he’ll be fine. He’s not insecure in our friendship, he’s just curious about what is going on with me.” He pulled up navigation on his phone to show her where the park was. 

It was quiet in the car as she drove. She still had the music on, but it was a low hum. “Can I ask you something?” Hyunwoo ventured. 

“S-s-sure.”

“Please don’t be nervous. It’s not personal. I don’t think anyway, but what perfume are you wearing?”

“Oh. It’s called, um...nectarine blossom and honey. That’s it.”

“You smell good.” He blurted. “I mean it smells good. I mean it’s nice.” His ears were blazing. 

She glanced at him quickly before looking forward. “Thank you. It’s kind of expensive, so I bought this weird pen that was the cheapest thing I saw at the time. It’s running low though. I’ll need to pick up another one soon.”

She pulled into the parking lot of the park and got out of the car. Hyunwoo followed, taking his duffle out. Maliah opened the trunk and pulled a backpack out. Slinging it on, and grabbing the basket she looked at Hyunwoo. “Where to?”

“Follow me please.” With that he started walking. He walked for about 5 minutes until he came to the edge of a wooded forest. He knelt down and rummaged in his bag for the blanket he packed. Spreading it out he plopped down and pulled out a book and his earbud. Maliah sat down and pulled out a sketchpad, the journal he gave her, and headphones. 

“I’m here if you want to talk, but if not, just pretend I’m not here.” He said gently. He plugged in an earbud and left one out so he could hear her and started reading. She faced the little pond and began to draw. Both of them enjoyed the quiet of the day. They were there so early that there were hardly any people out. The sun was out, but it was still a slight fall chill in the air. 

Hyunwoo kept an eye on Maliah, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable. She seemed focused on the pond as she drew, so he went back to being fully immersed in his book. He didn’t know when it happened but the food, combined with him feeling relaxed made him drowsy, and pretty soon he was asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of interaction between the two. I thought this was sweet. Fun fact about your girl, I used to live in West Lafayette, and at one point Lafayette. On Thursdays me and a friend would go out to a bar called the Neon Cactus, get drunk, go home, wake up, and go to this cafe and split The Challenge. Best hangover food ever!


	8. Chapter 8

He didn’t know how long he was asleep before he heard his name. 

“Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo, wake up.” 

He felt someone gently shake his shoulder. He grabbed the hand, thinking it was Minhyuk’s and noted it was softer, and smaller. His eyes popped open and he remembered. Breakfast, the park, Maliah. Blinking rapidly to focus his contacts he looked at her realizing he was still holding her hand. 

“You aren’t shaking.” He said.

She shook her head. “I don’t think you’d hurt me.”

“I wouldn’t. How long have I been asleep?” He casually let go of her hand so it didn’t seem like a big deal. 

“Three hours. You looked peaceful, so I didn’t bother you, but I thought you might be getting hungry.”

“Wow, three hours? I take you to a place and immediately crash. I’m sorry.” He was embarrassed. 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nice you felt comfortable enough to sleep. I had plenty to see and to draw.” She began unpacking the basket. The top of the basket had plates, cups, and utensils strapped to it. The food was inside the basket. 

Hyunwoo stretched and peered over at her. She handed him a plate with a massive sandwich on it, some type of potato salad and chips. She pulled out a glass bottle with a fancy label and orange liquid in it. Pouring them both a glass, she handed one to him. 

As he poked at the potato salad with a fork she glanced over. “It’s German potato salad. It isn’t mayo based, it’s more vinegary than American potato salad. It can be served warm or cold. She sat beside him and bit into her sandwich. 

He followed her example and tried the sandwich. It was delicious. Stacks of cold cuts, a vinegar based dressing, shredded lettuce and tomatoes on a french baguette. It was massive. Setting it down, he took a sip of the fizzy liquid. 

“Tangerine soda. One of my favorites.” Maliah continued nibbling at her food. 

After a while he stopped eating and looked at her. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had small gold hoops in her ears. 

“I went to the writing lab the other day.”

She looked at him. “Are you having problems in a writing class?”

“No. I read English and write just fine, but sometimes when it comes to poetry and things, I get lost and I don’t know what is being said. The poem you gave me, one of the tutors in the lab helped me with it.”

“Ah. You have questions?” 

He nodded.

“The poem is how I feel a lot of the time. You speak of Minhyuk and Jooheon. They are your support system. If something goes wrong, you have someone to talk to.” She opened the bag the manager at the diner had given them, and passed him a gooey strawberry cinnamon roll. “I don’t. I have no one. You talk about how proud your parents were that you got this opportunity. My parents see me as nothing but a burden, and an annoyance.” She said this as if she was talking about the weather. 

“Liah that can’t be true.” He licked the icing from his fingers.

“It’s very much true. I thought I found a friend group, but I ended up being tricked in the worst way possible. I had to spend a little time in a hospital to recover. Part of the reason the person didn’t get expelled was that her parents paid for my treatment, and continue to pay for my medication as ‘restitution’.” Maliah used finger quotes. 

“Hospital?” Hyunwoo asked. 

“I had a mental breakdown.” She said quietly. “I’ve always been an anxious person, but this spun it out of control.”

He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to hug her, but didn’t want to lose the ground they had gained that day, so he grabbed her hand and squeezed. 

She looked at him and smiled sadly. “I’m better, but remnants of everything still remain. I’m hopeful that by working through and processing everything and working towards my goals, I will be a little less...jittery? Anxiety ridden? Less than how I am now.” She pulled a piece of the sweet and sticky dessert and popped it in her mouth. 

“I think you’re just fine the way you are.” Hyunwoo said quietly. 

“I bumped into you and had a meltdown because you touched me. I go through periods where I just cannot interact with people. You have been nothing but nice and sometimes I have to just pass you notes because the words won’t come. Thank you for the sentiment Hyunwoo, but I am not fine the way I am.” She had started hitting herself on the leg with the hand he wasn’t holding. “I’m 20 years old and I’ve never kissed anyone, to say nothing of intimacy because the idea of being that close to someone throws me into a severe tailspin.”

Hyunwoo didn’t know what to do, so he did what he felt. Putting his plate down, he scooted so he was in front of her, and grabbed both of her hands so she would stop. 

She gently tugged away from both of his hands. “I’m kind of a mess Hyunwoo.”

“You’re a nice mess. A nice mess that draws really pretty flowers. That agreed to come out and share the day with me. We are all varying degrees of mess Liah. You’re just a little more severe than most.”

She gave him a half smile and went back to picking at her dessert. 

“You said you give guitar lessons. Do you play any other instruments?”

“Yeah. I uh, play the violin, but no one ever wants to learn to play the violin. Everyone wants the guitar because it’s cool.”

“Can I hear you play sometime?”

“I haven’t played for just a single person in a long time.”

“Well if you decide to, I’m here.”

He noticed that she was starting to shake. 

“Are you okay?” He asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just cold. This shirt isn’t doing it.” 

Rummaging around in his bag he handed her the sweatshirt he brought with him. 

“Thank you.” She slid it on and zipped it up. Hyunwoo was tall and the sleeves came over her hands. 

“You’re welcome.” He liked seeing her in his sweatshirt. He liked...her. He liked hanging with her, even if much wasn’t said. 

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

She turned her eyes to him. 

“Will you have dinner with me and my friends tonight? You don’t have to say anything, and I promise to keep Minhyuk calm, but I think you’ll like them. And I think they’ll like you.”

She tapped her lip with her sweatshirt covered hand. “A favor indicates that I will be owed a favor at a later date, correct?”

“I guess so, yes. What favor do you need?” He asked.

“Nothing right now, but I’m sure I’ll come back to something.” She rummaged in the basket for napkins and handed him one. “Do you want to go get a hot chocolate?”

He nodded and they began to pack up. 

“Thank you for bringing me here. You were right. It is peaceful.” As they walked to the car together, her hands trailed the daisy blooms. 

“Wait a minute.” Hyunwo stopped. He broke off a stem of daisies. Facing her, he reached out and touched her face, tucking her hair behind her ear. She flinched slightly but didn’t back away. He tucked the blossom in her hair. 

“There.” He smiled, pleased with his handiwork. He focused on her face and saw those big brown eyes focused on him. “Your eyes are really pretty.” He whispered. 

“Thank you,” she whispered back. 

It was silent for a moment. 

“Hot chocolate?” She asked again.

He nodded and they continued to walk to the car. 

They sat in the little coffee shop continuing to talk. He asked her what made her smile. 

“Pop music. It’s bright, it’s bouncy, and sometimes it’s clever in its raunchiness.”

“Raunchiness?” He asked.

“Yeah, here, listen.” She flipped through her phone and handed him her headphones. He listened to the song queued up all the way through. 

“It’s just talking about all the women they find attractive.”

She grinned. “That’s what it is on the surface, but if you take in all the words what they are actually saying is that they have wet dreams based on those women.”

Hyunwoo choked on his drink. “Hold on. Let me listen again please.”

She restarted the song for him as he listened carefully. When it got to the chorus he stared at her in amazement as she started laughing. 

“A tween or a teen probably wouldn’t catch it, but an adult? Oh yeah.” He handed back her headphones and she shoved everything in the sweatshirt pocket. They continued drinking their cocoa when Hyunwoo’s phone started ringing. 

“It’s Min, can you give me a minute?”

Maliah nodded as she poked at the marshmallows in her drink. 

“Yes Min?”

“WHERE ARE YOU I AM SO BORRRREEEDDD!!!??”

Minhyuk was loud enough that Maliah heard him and started laughing. 

“Is that a girl!? Are you with a girl!? Who are you with!?”

At this point Maliah is doubled over trying not to laugh out loud. 

“Min, I’ll be back in like 30 minutes or so. Will you order pizza tonight? We have a guest. Use my card if it’s my turn.”

“Who is the guest? Who is coming? Is it that girl that I heard? Does she like pineapple on her pizza? HEY GIRL DO YOU LIKE PINEAPPLE ON YOUR PIZZA?!” At this point Min was shrieking. 

“Min why are you yelling about pineapple?” Hyunwoo heard Jooheon in the background. 

“Hyunwoo is with a girl and he won’t tell me who it is, but he said there is a guest coming for dinner so is it the girl?”

When Hyunwoo glanced back at Maliah, she was dashing away tears from her eyes. “Uh, yes, I do like pineapple on my pizza.” She whispered. 

“Min! She likes pineapple on her pizza.”

“Got it. Come home soon.” Without another word Minhyuk hung up the phone. 

“Min is kind of exuberant. I’m going to text him and let him know it’s you, so he doesn’t jump on you like a puppy.” He looked down at his phone and sent the text. Less than a second later his phone went ballistic with texts. 

“I-uh…” Hyunwoo looked down helplessly at his phone. 

Maliah hesitantly put her hand on his arm. “I-I-I’ll be f-f-f-fine.”

“You’ve barely stuttered all day and now it’s back in full force. We don’t have to do this. I can make them meet in the open area of the dorm and you can head to your room. I just thought it would be nice.” He said quietly. 

“You have been nothing but accommodating to m-m-me. Let me reciprocate.” She looked at her watch. “W-w-we need t-t-t-to get going though. The stadium bus stops soon.” She stood up and tossed her cup. He followed after her. 

Driving back to campus, Hyunwoo was a bundle of nerves. Minhyuk was kind, but he was so bouncy sometimes. He hoped that Maliah wasn’t overwhelmed. They reached the stadium and pulled out all of their stuff and walked to the bus stop. On the bus Hyunwoo noticed her rubbing her hands obsessively over her thighs. He gently tugged her hand and gripped it. Looking at her, he said “This is your home. You have the right to go to your room if you are overwhelmed. If it’s too much you can walk away with no excuse.” 

She nodded. 

He didn’t let go of her hand. At their stop they walked, hand in hand back to the dorm. 

As they arrived at their door, Maliah took a deep breath, opened the door, and then gawked at what she saw. 

Jooheon and Minhyuk were rolling around on the floor, with Jooheon screaming. “YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN MIN!”

“HE NEVER BRINGS ANYBODY HOME!”

“HE’S NOT BRINGING ANYONE HOME! HE’S COMING HOME WITH OUR ROOMMATE!”

They continued tussling while Hyunwoo smacked his forehead with his free hand. 

“Guys?”

The rolling around continued. He glanced over at Maliah who was trying really hard not to laugh at the scene in front of them. 

“I’m going to yell. I don’t want you to be startled.” He said looking at her. 

She nodded. 

“WILL YOU TWO GET UP!?”

Jooheon and Minhyuk glanced at them. “Sorry. Minhyuk got a little….Minhyuk-ish.” Jooheon said. 

Minhyuk said nothing, staring at their clasped hands. Hyunwoo squeezed her hand slightly and let go. 

Playing it as casual as possible, Hyunwoo spoke to them both. “Is dinner here yet?”

"We ordered after we talked to you, so it should be here any minute.” Minhyuk said. He looked at Maliah. “I got ham and pineapple. No one ever likes it but me so I rarely get it.”

“I like the salty and the sweet together. Kind of t-t-t-t-the s-s-s-s-” She took a deep breath and started again. “L-l-l-ike with kettle corn.”

“Me too.” Minhyuk smiled gently. 

“I’m g-g-g-gonna put my s-s-st-st-stuff away. I’ll be b-b-back.” With that she went in her room and shut the door. 

Minhyuk looked at Hyunwoo and pounced. Hyunwoo towered over Minhyuk, and was also more muscular, but Minhyuk was determined and dragged Hyunwoo into his room. Hyunwoo shifted uncomfortably. 

“Well!?” Minhyuk finally said. 

“She needed some quiet and I knew a quiet place.” Hyunwoo said. 

“Where are your glasses?” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyunwoo reached over to his nightstand table and held up the pieces. “I fell asleep in them again.”

“So you weren’t trying to, I don’t know, be cute without them?”

Hyunwoo looked confused. “She sees me every day in glasses, why would I try to be cute without them?” 

“Never mind. There is more to this and I want to know everything. I’ll find out later though.” With that Minhyuk left him in his room, closing the door. 

Hyunwoo sighed, took off his shoes and unbuttoned his jeans. He really wanted to take out the contacts, but he could not see without them. Sliding his pants off, he dug out his sweatpants as he heard a knock at the door. Pizza was here. He hurriedly slipped on his sweatpants and opened his door. Jooheon was receiving the pizza. He glanced over at Liah’s door and it was still closed. Walking over, he tapped lightly. 

“Y-y-yes?” She whispered. 

“It’s me.” Hyunwoo said. 

It was quiet for a moment before she opened her door. He slipped in and closed it behind him. 

Taking a moment he glanced around. She had no pictures of friends or family up, but she had some of the art he assumed she had drawn. The lights were all out except for twinkling star string lights. 

“Are you okay?” He asked seriously. 

“They seem very nice Hyunwoo. I just can’t trust it.” She sat on her bed and wrapped her hands around her knees.

“Maybe if you talk about it, it would help?” Hyunwoo asked. 

She shook her head rapidly. “That’s a fast way to end the night with me hyperventilating.”

He looked at her. “You still have the daisy in your hair.”

“It’s the first flower anyone has ever given me. I’ll be keeping it.”

Hyunwoo’s ears turned red. “Like I said before. I won’t force you to do anything. But come out, maybe have a slice of pizza. If it gets to be too much, you walk back in your room no questions asked.” He looked at her. She’d changed into sweatpants too and still had his sweatshirt on. She looked so pretty. 

He wanted to let her know.

He wanted to kiss her. 

Both of these things were a bad idea. 

Instead, he held out his hand. She slowly reached hers out and grabbed hold of his tightly. Pulling her to her feet, she stumbled a bit but he caught her. 

“I-uh. I’m sorry.” He had his hands on her hips where he tried to steady her. 

“It’s fine. You aren’t going to hurt me.” When she said it, it sounded like she was more reassuring herself.

“Liah…”

“Maybe someday Hyunwoo. But not today. Please.”

He removed his hands from her waist and opened her door. 

As they walked out Minhyuk and Jooheon were pretending not to have been watching the door. Everyone sat on the couches surrounding the tv. Jooheon had put on an old movie called Mystery Men. 

Before serving himself, Hyunwoo put two slices of pineapple and ham pizza on a plate and handed it to Maliah without thinking. He then served himself. It was quiet while everyone was eating and watching the show. 

Finally Minhyuk piped up. “If you could have a ridiculous super power, what would it be? Nothing useful like flying, or xray vision.”

Jooheon responded instantly. “The ability to pull the exact card out of my wallet no matter what.”

“If I fall I always land on my feet.” Minhyuk said. 

“W-w-whenever I d-d-d-d-” She started hitting herself on the leg and Hyunwoo quickly grabbed her hand. She took a deep breath. “Whenever I drop something, I-I-I still manage to catch it before it hits the floor.” She whispered. 

“Teeth are protected from getting stuff lodged in between them.” Hyunwoo offered. He was eating pizza with one hand, refusing to let go of Liah’s. She was doing the same. They all continued watching the movie when Hyunwoo felt Liah’s grip loosen from his. He glanced over and she was asleep. 

“Liah. Liah, why don’t you go to bed? You had kind of a long day.” He shook her gently. She opened her eyes and her glasses were crooked. 

“I’m sorry, I’m not usually around people much, except at work. It’s kind of exhausting.” She stretched and stood up. “Thank you for dinner. Do I owe you anything?” 

Minhyuk shook his head. “We take turns. And it’s always nice to find someone who will eat the same thing as me.” She smiled shyly and shuffled off to the bathroom. 

Jooheon looked at Hyunwoo. He was staring at the bathroom door. “You like her.” He whispered.

Hyunwoo looked at him startled. “She’s very nice and I like spending time with her.”

“No, you like her, like her.”

“Oh. Um. Well.” Hyunwoo immediately turned red.

“There’s nothing wrong with that, and you two seemed to have clicked. But I think you’ve chosen a difficult path.”

Minhyuk stared as Hyunwoo continued to get redder. “I could probably fry an egg with the heat from your cheeks.”

The bathroom door opened and Maliah stepped out. She looked back, gave a small wave and headed into her room, closing the door. 

Minhyuk stood up “Can I talk to you for a bit?” He stared at Hyunwoo. Jooheon pulled out the game controls and queued up MarioKart. 

Hyunwoo walked into his room with Minhyuk and sat at his desk.

“Spill.”

So Hyunwoo told him everything. About sitting outside her door talking, passing notes and food back and forth, The Challenge, and daisies. 

“Do you know why she’s so skittish?”

Hyunwoo waggled his hand back and forth. “Something bad happened with her and her last roommate. Bad enough that the person should be expelled but only got a restraining order. She won’t go into it though.”

“Is that why she’s terrified of us?”

Hyunwoo nodded. 

“So we show her we aren’t the same. How do we do that?” Minhyuk asked. 

“I don’t honestly know.” Hyunwoo admitted. 

“Whatever it is that you are doing, I think it is working. She trusts you to an extent. I guess just keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing.” Minhyuk looked at the door. “I know you like her. I see the way you look at her and how you grab her hand. For both of your sakes, I would take it slow.”

Hyunwoo arched a brow. “When have you ever known me to move quickly with anything?”

Minhyuk laughed. “This is true. Maybe you’ll be good for each other.” He patted Hyunwoo’s leg as he got up. 

“Min.”

Minhyuk turned to look at him. 

“I don’t know where to go from here.” Hyunwoo admitted. 

Minhyuk stared at him as he thought. “You two came together because you took a step and found a level to reason with her. Don’t change it up because you are starting to have different feelings. Let her take steps to you. Just keep being yourself.”

“Thank you Min.”

Minhyuk nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door. 

Hyunwoo sighed and got out a sheet of writing paper. 

_ Liah, _

_ I hope today wasn’t too taxing on you. I had fun talking and getting to know you. I know we do not know each other very well, and it’s hard to trust people, but know that I always try to be honest no matter what. I’m going to ask the same from you as well.  _

_ Did you enjoy hanging out with us? Sometimes Min and Jooheon go to parties, but I rarely attend. A bunch of drunk obnoxious people aren’t really my thing. We do go out bowling, or we may go to a bar to eat wings and have a beer. All three of us are 21. You are always welcome to join us. Except for the bar I guess, since you are only 20. When do you turn 21? _

Hyunwoo chewed on his pen for a bit as he hesitated to put his next words down. 

_ You made mention of never being intimate with someone before. I don’t mean to pry, but does that mean, you’ve never had friends? When I think of intimacy, I don’t really just think of sex.  _

His ears burned as he wrote the word sex.

_ It could be an arm slung around a friend, or horsing around. Little things I guess. Some days I just need a hug. I get overwhelmed. I know that Min would hug me, no questions asked. Same for him. He’s exuberant, but he’s also super sensitive. I guess that's why all three of us get along. We don’t really have boundaries between us. _

_ I think I’ll end this here. I spend most of my Sundays studying. Sometimes I go out to the area I told you about with all the flowers. Not this week though, so I’ll be in my room most of the day. You’re welcome to stop in. I also forgot to thank you for the peony seeds. Thank you very much. I am not sure if I can take them back with me, but I will surely figure out a way. Have a good night. _

_ H _

He sealed it in an envelope and walked into the common area. Jooheon was still playing video games and watched as Hyunwoo taped the note to her door. He walked back over and sat by Jooheon grabbing a controller. 

“Where’s Min?” Hyunwoo asked as he selected his driver. 

“Ashley sent him a picture and he took off as if the hounds of hell were at his heels.” Jooheon snickered. 

“Did you see what it was?” 

“No, and I didn’t really want to.” Jooheon admitted. Hyunwoo nodded. 

“So, she seems really nice.” Jooheon ventured. 

“She is.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to keep going as we are. She needs a friend more than she needs anything else really.” He threw a shell at Jooheon’s car, tripping him up, making it easier for Hyunwoo to take the lead. 

Winning two games back to back, Hyunwoo tossed his controller on the table. “It’s too soon to say anything of what I want. But I like spending time with her. I like the way her mind works and how she processes things. We’re friendly. It works.”

Jooheon nodded. “Sounds good.” He patted Hyunwoo on the back as he stood up. “I’m headed to bed. Are you planning on working out tomorrow?”

“Yes, but I need to get some studying done. Want to go in the evening before dinner?” 

After an agreed upon plan they both retired to their rooms for the night. 

As Hyunwoo closed his eyes, he wondered what her mouth would feel like under his. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be in my bunk if you need me. 
> 
> The song Maliah plays for Hyunwoo is Liquid Dreams by O-Town. Now that I have talked about it, I must go twerk to it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sitting here, writing chapter 45 moved by the sweet comments I got. When I started writing again, I told myself that this was just for me, and I wasn't going to obsess over comments. I'm not obsessing, but I have to be honest, each one feel really good. I wanted to do something nice for you, so here is an extra chapter. Have a great rest of the weekend!

“Hyunwoo?”

He moaned and rolled over. 

“Hyunwoo, p-p-p-please, c-c-c-c-can you w-wu-wake up?”

Hyunwoo turned back over and opened an eye partially. He saw a very blurry outline of a short person. “Yeah?”

“I-I-I-I’m s-s-s-s-s-” There was a pause. “I a-a-a-a-a-am s-s-s-s-s-s-”

Hyunwoo blindly grabbed for her hand “What’s wrong Liah?” His voice was raspy from sleep. 

“Nightmare.” She said simply. 

“Mmm.” Scooting over as far as the tiny twin bed would let him, he pulled back the cover. “Get in.”

She hesitated. 

“I won’t hurt you, but I typically sleep late. I’m not getting up any time soon. Get in.”

She slowly climbed in the bed with him. He threw the blanket over both of them and dozed off again almost instantly. 

Maliah stayed frozen for a while as she listened to his soft snores. Pretty soon the sound relaxed her back to sleep. 

* * *

Around 10 in the morning Minhyuk returned to the dorm looking more than a little disheveled. When he arrived Jooheon was sitting on the couch basically vibrating. 

“I got your text. What’s up?” 

Jooheon stood up and put his finger to his lips and walked over to Hyunwoo’s room. Slowly opening the door, they both took in the sight of Hyunwoo basically wrapped around Maliah in a tiny twin bed. Her hands were on his arms and they were both asleep. Slowly, Jooheon closed the door and they both plopped down on the couch.

“That’s...certainly not taking it slow.” Minhyuk said. 

“I don’t think anything is actually happening. I don’t actually know why she is in there or how she got in there, but she’s fully dressed and I don’t honestly believe he’d choose sex over sleep anyway.” Jooheon said. 

Minhyuk nodded. “With his only girlfriend, it took him forever to get up the nerve to sleep with her, and afterwards he felt guilty for a long time.”

“Why guilty?”

“He didn’t like her as much as she liked him. He felt by sleeping with her, he was sort of leading her on. They parted amicably, but he’s super serious about anything he jumps into now.”

“Unlike you?” Jooheon eyeballed his appearance.

“I see sex as a thing for fun, not a life time commitment. But I also make sure the people I sleep with aren’t looking for forever with me.”

“What happens if you meet someone you want forever with?” Jooheon asked curiously. 

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” Minhyuk shrugged. “Do you want to get some breakfast after I shower?”

Jooheon nodded and sat on the couch watching tv to wait for him. 

The scent that Hyunwoo now knew as nectarine and honey blossom invaded his senses, even in his sleep. “Oh god.” He moaned out loud, trying to shift. He felt his arms around something. 

Someone. 

Opening one eye, he remembered. Early in the morning, Liah. Looking down, she was pressed into his chest. His bare chest. All the blood in his head was slowly draining to his, well, other head and they were about to have a problem. “Liah.”

Her eyes opened instantly and she gasped when she realized how they were situated. Quickly scooting away, she would have fallen off the bed had he not caught her. 

“S-s-s-”

“You’re okay Liah. Remember? You had a nightmare, and I told you to get in. No apologies needed at all.”

“Yeah. Okay. Okay.” 

He sensed she was calming down and let go of her so she could slide out of the bed. 

“Thank you for letting me stay.”

“You’re welcome. Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head no. 

“Sometimes it helps.”

“I know, but I-I-I have a therapist for that. No offense or any-t-thing.” 

“I’m here if you want to talk.” 

She nodded as she walked out of his room and closed the door. 

He flopped back into his pillow and sighed. She felt so tiny wrapped around him. It’s been a long time since anyone was wrapped around him. Come to think of it, he wasn’t really ever wrapped around his last girlfriend. The moments they had were stolen. Times when parents weren’t home, or quickies here and there. He still felt bouts of guilt when he thought of her. He knew she wanted forever, to make a home and babies with him right after high school. He just wasn’t ready for that, and he didn’t want that with her. He would try to tell her, and she would hastily drop the subject, or if they were in a private place, manage to have his cock in her mouth in an instant. He was only human and more than willing to drop any subject if she kept doing that. The final straw was him overhearing her telling his mother that he had proposed. 

His mother was shocked and hurt that he hadn’t told her, and he was livid. He wasn’t going to be trapped, especially by someone he had been trying to tell for months he didn’t feel the same way. It gave him the strength to keep his pants zipped and cut her out. 

He stood up and gathered his stuff for a shower. Heading towards the bathroom, he saw Liah’s door shut. He hoped she was feeling okay. He walked in the bathroom and shut the door. Turning on the shower he squinted in the mirror. He wondered if he could get Jooheon to take him to get his glasses fixed. His contacts were uncomfortable. He sent him a text and began to brush his teeth. He then stripped and got into the shower. As soon as he got in he groaned. She had showered before him. Her scent permeated the small stall. 

“You have got to get a grip.” He told himself as his cock became rock hard. Gripping himself firmly he began to stroke. A flash of Maliah’s mouth centimeters from his chest flashed in his head, queuing his orgasm. He leaned against the wall for support. “Ohhhh” He moaned. He hoped it was quiet. Once he caught his breath, he finished his shower, got dressed. Looking at his phone, Jooheon would take him before they worked out, so he could get them fixed. Stepping out of the bathroom, he saw both Jooheon and Minhyuk were gone. He wondered if Minhyuk had even come home at all. He sent him a text asking as he dropped his showering stuff back in his room. He saw that there was a note on his door. Grabbing it and heading into the kitchen, he pulled a bowl out of the cabinet. Rummaging around, he unearthed a box of instant oatmeal packets he bought a while ago. Filling up the electric kettle and turning it on, he dumped two packets of the oatmeal in his bowl. Waiting for the kettle to cut off, he opened the note.

_ Hyunwoo, _

_ You are quite welcome for the seeds. When you talked about the peony bush, I had to Google and see what it was. It is a beautiful plant. The article I read says that the blooms get so heavy that they can droop and petals can drop. They are fragile and pretty.  _

_ You and your friends are really nice. I can see how things can get silly and out of hand between the three of you very easily. It’s nice you and Minhyuk have that type of relationship and that Jooheon enhances it. You all seem very balanced with no one being left out. You mentioned that you guys go bowling. Have you ever gone roller skating? Sometimes I go and do a few laps when I have time.  _

_ I wanted to thank you for your words on intimacy. I don’t frequently have nightmares, but when I do, they are truly bad. Normally I tough them out and sit in my room and just don’t sleep, and cry, or draw, but your note gave me the courage to ask for help. My therapist will be pleased when I tell her.  _

_ I’m sure as a baby and even as a toddler I was hugged, or held, or loved on, but all I remember from being a childhood to my 18th birthday is pain. I’ll leave that there. I was the only black girl in a private school. It was very obvious I was on scholarship. I didn’t have a car, I didn’t vacation anywhere, and I worked an insane amount of hours. If I wasn’t at school or studying, I was working. I scraped every single dime I had to buy my car. The kids at my school didn’t know how to interact with me. So they didn’t. A few of their parents tried to make me a charity case, but that didn’t go over well with me. College was supposed to be a new start. It was supposed to be a fresh chance to be my own person and make friends. That didn’t turn out so great. _

  
  


Hyunwoo stopped reading to pour water in his oatmeal and add a small pat of butter. Picking up his bowl and his note, he went in his room and left the door cracked. 

_ So now, I am back to where I was in high school. Only it’s worse. I have a medication regimen because I couldn’t deal with my reality anymore. I have a stutter that my therapist says is trauma based, and may go away if I process everything. But how do I process anything that happened? How do I deal with the fact that my life is nothing but a shitty hand of cards? I don’t know. Maybe I wasn’t meant to deal.  _

_ So, that was heavy. To lighten it a bit, I turn 21 in a couple of months. December 6th. I won’t be celebrating by drinking. It’s advised I don’t drink on the medications I am taking. I don’t actually celebrate my birthday. No one usually acknowledges it. I’ll probably work, depending on what day it is, and maybe treat myself to some takeout mexican food.  _

_ Thank you again for being there. Sorry to have interrupted your sleep.  _

_ -L _

This was a lot of knowledge about her. Hyunwoo ate his oatmeal as he thought. He couldn’t imagine not being able to go to his father if he was having a problem, or his mom if he just wanted to talk. Who did Liah talk to? How did she vent? What does someone do when they don’t have anyone to talk to? He picked up his phone and called Minhyuk.

“You know, going slow with someone isn’t sleeping with them after your first date.” Minhyuk said in lieu of hello.

“I didn’t-We didn’t. It wasn’t a date.” Hyunwoo stammered. 

Minhyuk laughed. “I know, and I know nothing happened. What do you need?”

“If you didn’t have me or Jooheon to talk to, who would you talk to?”

“I’m a pretty friendly guy. I have friends, they just aren’t close friends like you two. I’d be forced to make close friends I think. Why?”

“Who does someone talk to if they don’t have friends?” Hyunwoo ignored his question.

“Maybe themselves?” Minhyuk suggested.

Hyunwoo was quiet for a bit. “Where are you at?”

Jooheon and I are kicking around a soccer ball, and then we’re headed to the Den to get snacks. We wanted to get out of the house in case something did happen with you two. 

Hyunwoo laughed. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“A week ago, you thought our roommate was a ghost. Never say never.” He pulled the phone from his ear to yell something at Jooheon.

“Do you want us to bring you lunch?”

“Yes. Use my card, bring something for her as well please.”

“Got it. Talk to you soon.” Minhyuk hung up. 

Hyunwoo got up, rinsed his bowl and went back to his room. Laying on his bed with his textbook for bio, he started taking notes. After about 30 minutes, he turned on the little speaker he kept by his bed and started playing Bruno Mars softly. After a bit he heard the front door open and Minhyuk blast through with Jooheon following behind. 

Minhyuk burst through Hyunwoo’s room with styrofoam containers. “I figured she’d be in here.” 

Hyunwoo shrugged. “I think she’s a little embarrassed she came in in the night.” He held out his hand to Minhyuk for the food. 

Min handed over one. “I can give it to her.”

“Min,” Hyunwoo had a warning in his voice. “Knock on her door, let her know you have food. If she doesn’t respond, set it by her door and let her know you did and walk away. Come back in here if you want to.”

Minhyuk walked off and Hyunwoo heard the knock. “Maliah? It’s Min. I brought you food. Well I mean, Hyunwoo paid for it, but I got it because I have one of his cards. We each have each other’s cards if we’re out and grabbing food. Anyway, he asked me to pick you up food. I got you both fried chicken salads, because they are really good, and I don’t think he’d eat his vegetables proper if I didn’t get him a salad from time to time.”

Jooheon, sitting on Hyunwoo’s bed started laughing. 

“Hi! Here is your salad. Do you want to come eat on the couch with us?”

“I-uh. W-where’s Hyunwoo?” 

“I’m in my room Liah. I’ll be out in a second.” He called out. 

“O-o-o-o-Alright.”

He closed his book, sat up and stretched. Turning off the music he grabbed his container and headed out to the living room with Jooheon. 

“I honestly think this the most I’ve eaten in a long time.” Liah admitted as she picked through the salad. “I usually only eat one meal a day.”

“Why?” Jooheon asked as he opened his container that contained a burger. Hyunwoo looked longingly at it. 

“When was the last time you ate something green?” Minhyuk stared at Hyunwoo. 

Hyunwoo turned red. 

“That’s what I thought, eat the salad.” He turned to Maliah. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She said quietly. “Art, schoolwork, work, and when I can squeeze in music practice takes up a lot of my time. When I am at work at the gallery I’ll grab a sandwich from the diner. By the time I get back here, I am tired and my feet hurt and all I want to do is take off my shoes and crash.”

“You two are the worst,” Minhyuk pointed at both of them. “If it isn’t fried, he doesn’t want it. And you don’t eat.”

“Hey! I ate a bowl of oatmeal today.” Hyunwoo protested. 

“That’s because you didn’t want to leave and it was readily available.”

“It still counts.” Hyunwoo pouted.

“I just have a l-l-lot on my p-p-p-plate. I have a f-f-f-f-” she sighed. “I have a big course load, two p-p-p-p-part time jobs, and my o-o-o-” She closed her mouth for a moment. “I have a lot. E-e-e-eating is the last thing on m-m-mu-my mind.”

Hyunwoo wanted to grab her hand desperately, but he didn’t know if she wanted to even be touched. She was slowly picking through the salad and looking down. 

“So is your major art?” Jooheon prodded gently. 

She looked at Hyunwoo strangely. He understood. “Your life is your own. I wouldn’t talk about anything we’ve spoken about unless you told me I could.” He did tell Min she had roommate issues, but didn’t really say much about it. 

She nodded gratefully. “No, psychology. I plan to use art t-t-therapy in my practice.”

“What is that?” Minhyuk asked. 

Maliah put her fork down. “S-s-s-somet-t-t-times it’s hard for people to talk. Some people find it e-e-e-e-” 

Hyunwoo saw her ball up her fist and he knew what was coming. He put his fork down and as casually as he could, slid his hand in hers. 

She took a breath and started again. “Some people find it e-e-e-easier to do an activity t-t-t-to talk about their p-p-pain. Maybe showing it on canvas or through pottery than speaking aloud.” She sighed. “It’s the same with music. Losing yourself in music helps.”

“Is that why you dance in the common area?” Minhyuk questioned.

“Ah…yes? It helps. A lot.”

She seemed calm, so he took his hand away and went back to his salad. He didn’t notice the glance at her hand when he pulled away.

Jooheon did. 

Minhyuk changed the subject to a tv show, allowing Maliah to eat quietly and observe. 

Hyunwoo kept his ear to the conversation but also kept an eye on Maliah. She was still wearing his sweatshirt. 

She glanced over at him. “Thank you for lunch.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I have to go study now.”

“Thank you for sitting with us for a bit.” She nodded and stood up. She gave a slight wave to Jooheon and Minhyuk, and threw her trash away before retreating into her room. 

He looked over at Minhyuk. “How are things with you and Ashley?”

Minhyuk shrugged. “It’s not serious and I am kind of bored.”

Jooheon smirked “Even with the thing with her tongue?”

“Kind of? I mean, she kind of leans on that and doesn’t do anything else.” Minhyuk started gathering trash. “I don’t mind putting in work, but it felt like I was chasing both of our orgasms. You have to help a little.”

Hyunwoo turned red. 

Jooheon noticed. “Why are you so red?”

“He doesn’t talk about sex. Even when he was having it, he was pretty tight lipped. Only reason I found out was we were at the store when he was trying to buy condoms.” Minhyuk said as he threw away garbage. 

Hyunwoo was progressively going towards a purple shade on his ears. “I’m going to go study.”

Jooheon stared at him in amazement. “Why are you so embarrassed?”

Hyunwoo stood up. “It’s intensely personal to me. If I make that connection with someone it’s…” He bit his lip and tried to put into words how he felt. “I didn’t love her. But I felt something for her that was intense and personal and I don’t like sharing. It also feels like a smear to her memory to talk about her that way.”

“Didn’t she try to get you to propose by lying to your parents?” Minhyuk pointed out. 

“That doesn’t negate the good times we had or how I felt about her in those times. I just want to honor the positive memories. And if it happens again, I’ll probably be the same way.” He said quietly.

“What about the others?” Jooheon asked.

“What others?”

“The other people you’ve slept with.” Jooheon said slowly.

Hyunwoo shook his head. “There haven’t been any others. I don’t take sex lightly like Minhyuk.”

Minhyuk nodded. “They were together for four years before they even broached the topic.” He started laughing. “She basically had to beat him over the head for him to realize she was interested in him.”

“How did you not realize that she was attracted to you?” Jooheon asked. 

Hyunwoo shrugged. 

“He doesn’t realize how attractive he is.” Minhyuk said. “He has girls staring at him constantly, even his lab partner and he doesn’t see it or understand when they approach him.”

“I’m a nerd that talks about plants all the time.”

“You’re a tall nerd with broad shoulders, muscles and a nice smile.” Minhyuk pointed out. 

“What do my shoulders have to do with anything?” Hyunwoo asked, confused. 

“What he is saying is girls find you attractive, and want to get to know you, but you tend to push everyone aside.”

“Eh,” Hyunwoo shrugged. “I don’t feel anything. I like being by myself. I like being with you guys. I like…” He paused for a minute, red creeping back into his ears and face again.

“I think she likes being with you as well.” Jooheon stated quietly at the unspoken words. “She looked a little put out when you took your hand away.”

Hyunwoo quickly changed the subject. “I was going to study for a couple of hours. Would you be ready to go then?”

Jooheon nodded and looked at Minhyuk. “We’re going to go get his glasses repaired and then head to the gym. Did you want to come?”

“Nah. Don’t get anything to eat though, I’m going to cook.” With that Minhyuk went into his room. 

Hyunwoo looked at Jooheon. “If it’s bad, I have oatmeal.”

Jooheon laughed and turned on the tv. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this one, we get a little insight into Liah. Enjoy!

_ Liah, _

_ Your note was heavy, but informative. Thank you for sharing a bit of your life. I think human touch is important. Maybe not to everyone, but to me it is. I’ve always been able to go to my mom or my dad for a hug or kind words or even a head scratch when I’ve had a bad day. I’m sorry that you don’t have that.  _

_ It was pointed out to me earlier that I tend to grab your hand. I’m sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable, and if you want I can stop. You start to hit yourself. I don’t know if you know it or not. But I don’t want you to hurt yourself, so I grab your hand I guess. If it bothers you please let me know and I will stop. I don’t want to make you feel bad.  _

_ You mentioned a therapist. How often do you see them? Does it help you a lot? I was thinking about how you don’t really have anyone to talk to, but you kind of do in your therapist. I hope it isn’t presumptuous, but you are always welcome to talk to me as well. My door is always open. Except when I am asleep. You may have noticed, I’m not mean when I’m sleeping, but I am very matter of fact. It’s off putting to some people. I apologize in advance if you wake me and I seem not myself. It’s my body trying to do whatever it needs to do, to get back to sleep.  _

_ I have never been roller skating. It sounds fun. Would you like to go with us sometime? Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you as well. This past summer we discovered the drive in theatre in a town about 40 minutes away. Next weekend is their last show for the year until spring. Do you want to go with us? Jooheon has a car, and we usually pile in.  _

Hyunwoo held his breath as he wrote the question. He was sure she would say no, but it didn’t hurt to try. 

_ We always celebrate our birthdays with cake at home. While we are on campus, sometimes it’s cupcakes, but always some sort of treat. This past birthday, Minhyuk wanted to light candles for some reason, so he made us sit in the bathroom with the shower on while I blew them out, to make sure we didn’t set off any smoke alarms. Do you not like cake? _

_ I actually have to get some studying done before I go to get my glasses repaired and go to the gym. I will talk to you soon.  _

_ H _

Sealing the note up, he wished he had something to put in the envelope. She always drew him such pretty pictures. He had no artistic talent whatsoever. Sighing, he set the note aside and began to work on his homework. 

Two hours later, Jooheon knocked on his door, indicating he was ready to go. Hyunwoo hurried and got dressed, trading his sweatpants for black compression pants and a t-shirt. Throwing his requisite hat on, he grabbed the note and his broken glasses and walked out of his room, crossing over to hers, and was surprised to see a note already on it. He turned and looked at Minhyuk watching tv. 

“What are you doing?”

“You said she responds better to notes, so I left a note.” Minhyuk said, looking at him.”

“Yeah but I…” Hyunwoo paused. He didn’t know why this bugged him so much. He quietly taped his note to her door and headed out the door with Jooheon. 

“You know he’s curious about her right? That’s all.” Jooheon said as they walked to his car. He had made a deal with some people that lived in an apartment close to campus. They didn’t have a car, so they let him park his in their space. In exchange he took them to the grocery store once a week. 

“I know. But you know how exuberant he gets.”

“He’ll calm it down for her. Anything that’s important to you is important to him.” Jooheon unlocked the car doors and they both slid in. 

Driving off campus they went to the little glasses shop near the mall. Hyunwoo handed over his glasses to the sales person. They took them to the back to work on them, while Jooheon and him tried on silly sunglasses and laughed at each other. All of a sudden Jooheon stopped and looked. 

“Wait a minute.” He walked over to a designer frames case and pulled out some stylish silver frames. Taking off the big red blocky sunglasses Hyunwoo had on, he set them on his face. They were mostly rectangular but came to a sharpish point at the top of the frame. They made him look sophisticated. 

“Aren’t you due for an upgrade in your glasses?” Jooheon asked. 

“Yeah, I didn’t take it at my last exam a couple of months ago because my glasses were fine.” His name was called at the counter. 

“Mr. Son, I was able to fix your glasses, but I need to show you something.” The sales person flipped them over and pointed. “I’ve added a bolt, but it’s a temporary measure. The rings that the screw fits through are stripped. You’re going to need new glasses.”

He took the frames off his face and handed them to the clerk. “I’d like these please.”

It took a bit longer than Jooheon and Hyunwoo were imagining because they had to take facial measurements and made sure he got the right lenses. His prescription was big enough that he had to get a thin lens so his eyes didn’t look weird. Finally finished, Jooheon and Hyunwoo made their way to the gym. While running on the treadmill, Hyunwoo told Jooheon he invited Maliah to go to the drive-in with them next weekend. 

“What did she say?”

“I don’t know yet. I hope they’ll be an answer when I get back.” He upped his speed on the treadmill before he asked the next question. “Do you know what Minhyuk wrote to her?”

“Yes.”

Hyunwoo wasn’t expecting that and stumbled on the treadmill. He caught himself and continued his run. “Well, are you going to tell me?”

“He asked her to help him cook dinner. He’s trying to get to know her. He said that she’s important to you, so she’s important to him.”

“We’re just friends. Sort of.”

Jooheon shrugged. “I am just repeating what I was told.” It was silent for a while as they both were running at a high speed. 

Jooheon spoke up again. “Are you ready to face Casey in class tomorrow?”

Hyunwoo moaned. “No. But my professor is switching us around and promised to be discreet about the reason.”

“Are you prepared as to when she ambushes you?”

Hyunwoo winced. “I was thinking of just running when class ends”

Jooheon roared with laughter, startling the people around them. “We’re just going to see you running across campus.” 

Hyunwoo blushed, and set the treadmill to cooldown. “I don’t understand. I told her I wasn’t interested in anything beyond being lab mates and then the stuff with you guys. She has to know this isn’t okay. Maybe she will be mature about it.”

“Man, she sounded kind of unhinged during the dinner. Like you were hers and you just didn’t know it yet.”

“Well I’m not. And I won’t be.” Turning off the treadmill he began stretching and felt something pull hard. “Shit!”

Jooheon looked over at him. 

“My back.” He twisted his torso slightly and nearly buckled at the knees. 

Jooheon hopped off the treadmill. “Okay, it’s okay. Let’s get you back to the dorm.” Walking next to him they slowly left the gym and got into the car. Driving back to the dorm was agony for Hyunwoo. He felt every single bump in the road. When the car stopped he nearly teared up. He knew the most painful part was yet to come. 

“I am going to drop you off here and go drop the car off. As slow as you move, I’ll be back before you hit the door.” Jooheon put on his emergency blinkers and got out of the car to help Hyunwoo get out. 

As they worked to get him out of the car, Hyunwoo bit back a scream at the pain. He had pulled muscles at the gym before, but this was really bad. He couldn’t afford to miss classes tomorrow and he didn’t know what to do. He began to shuffle towards the dorm. 

Jooheon got back in the car and flew to the apartment complex. After parking he ran back to the dorm to see that Hyunwoo had made it to the doorway.

“Alright, you got this. Come on.” Jooheon grabbed him to support him by his waist. They bypassed the stairs and went to the elevator. Arriving to their floor they opened the door to an odd scene. The house smelled of pasta sauce. Minhyuk and Maliah were on the couch. She was holding his hand and very focused on painting his nails.

“Are you painting his nails?” Jooheon stared at the scene confused. 

“Look! She did the other hand!” He started waving around a hand with bright orange fingernails. He looked at them. “Did you hurt your back again?” 

Hyunwoo looked at Minhyuk and Min saw he was struggling not to crumble. “Okay. Let’s get you laid down.” 

“Min, I need a shower. I’ve been running for an hour.”

“Okay. It’s okay. We can do this. Jooheon, get him to the bathroom. He can mostly take it from there. I’ll help him in a second. I need to get him clean clothes.”

Maliah looked at Hyunwoo. “I don’t know what to do.”

Minhyuk looked at her. “Can you give us about 10 minutes and then start to make him a plate?” He looked at Jooheon and Hyunwoo. “She taught me how to make spaghetti!” 

Jooheon shuffled Hyunwoo off to the bathroom. Gently seated on the toilet, Jooheon looked at him. “You got it from here?” 

“Yeah. Min will help me get into the shower.” He gently started toeing off his shoes. He tried to lift his arms to take his shirt off and immediately put his hands down. “Shit! How did I seize up this quickly?” 

Jooheon gently helped him get out of his shirt. “You know you have to stretch really well, and you didn’t.”

“I do farm work all the time and have never had this issue until I stopped.”

“You aren’t in Korea anymore.” Jooheon said. “You haven’t worked a farm in a couple of years. You are using different muscles. Farm work doesn’t give you that stomach.” He tapped the ridges of Hyunwoo’s six pack. 

Hyunwoo nodded. “You’re right.”

“I’m going to go eat. If you or Min need me, call.”

“Thank you.”

Jooheon nodded and went off in search of food. Hyunwon shifted uncomfortably on the toilet. Minhyuk came in with clothes. “You ready?”

Hyunwoo nodded. Together they got him up. He was able to get his own pants down. Minhyuk and he had been naked countless times as little boys, so there was no embarrassment. Slowly getting him in the shower, Minhyuk closed the shower curtain and let him shower himself. 

Minhyuk counted to about 10 until he got the question he’d been waiting for. 

“Why was Liah painting your nails?”

“Well, after I convinced her to go grocery shop with me for dinner, I noticed she kept hitting her thighs or scrubbing her hands on her legs. So I was trying to find something to keep her hands busy. I didn’t think you’d be pleased at the way I normally keep girls' hands busy, nor do I think she would go for that.”

Hyunwoo’s bar of soap went skittering out of the shower. 

“Min did you…”

“I didn’t do anything to her Hyunwoo. It was a joke, calm down.” He stuck his hand in the shower curtain to hand back the soap. “I noticed her toes were painted and I asked if she went to a shop to get them done. She said she does them herself. So I asked her to paint my fingers.” He admired his hand that was fully done. 

“That was nice of you.” Hyunwoo turned the shower off. Minhyuk handed him a towel to dry off. 

“She’s a nice girl. Skittish, but very nice. Also she cooks really well.”

“Min, I need help with my pants and underwear, I can’t bend well.”

Minhyuk opened the shower curtain and stooped over to help Hyunwoo with his boxer briefs and sweatpants. 

“Where’s my shirt?”

“You don’t need one. You sleep hot anyway, and you’re headed to lay down. Come on.”

Minhyuk grabbed his bathroom toiletries and kept an arm around him, leading him to his room. Looking around, Hyunwoo saw that Liah’s door was shut and she was nowhere to be found. He cheered up a bit at the note he saw on his door. He reached out to grab it as he passed through the door. Slowly getting situated on his stomach he laid down and looked up at Minhyuk. 

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be back with a plate and some meds in a bit.” He left and closed the door behind him. 

When the door shut behind him, he went to open the note when a soft knock sounded. “Come in Liah.” He shoved the note under his pillow.

“H-h-h-h-”

“You’re the only one that would knock.” He answered for her. 

“Minhyuk s-s-s-said you h-h-h-hurt your back.”

“Yeah, I pulled a muscle. It’s the third time this has happened. Why are you so nervous to talk to me?” He couldn’t see her, because she was by the door. 

“I b-b-brought you something.” She walked up so he could see her and handed him a large sticker.

“What is it?”

“It’s a hot pad. You stick it on your parts that a-a-a-are h-h-h-h-hurting, and it warms up.”

“Thank you. Can you put it on?”

“Oh. I-uh. Let me get Minhyuk.” She moved to walk to the door. 

“If you are getting him because you aren’t comfortable touching me, that’s fine. If you are concerned about my feelings about you touching me, it’s okay.” He said quietly. 

They were both quiet for a moment. Then Maliah spoke up. “Where does it hurt?”

“Touch the middle of my lower back with your finger.” He said

She did as he asked. 

“Slide your finger to the right just a little bit.”

She did as he asked and felt a slight bulge.

Meanwhile Hyunwoo’s entire back was broken out into goosebumps. He felt faint from her scent. 

Maliah, removed her hand and grabbed the wrap. Peeling the backing she smoothed it on the area and waited. 

“Oh...ohhhhhhhhhhhh.” Hyunwoo moaned out loud. “What is this magic!?”

“I keep them for my cycle. They have different shapes for different parts of your body.”

“OH MY GODDDDDDDDDD!” Hyunwoo shifted slightly. Minhyuk opened the door to see what the commotion was. 

“Are you two okay?” Minhyuk entered cautiously with a plate. 

“Min! It’s hot. It feels so good.” He began to wriggle in the bed. 

“Um. Okay. Well, I brought food, a drink, and medication. I’m just going to sit this on your desk.” 

“Min, wait, how am I supposed to eat?” 

Minhyuk glanced at Maliah. “Can you feed him? He can’t really move from his stomach until the meds kick in.”

Maliah nodded. 

“Make sure he eats his vegetables before that cinnamon roll.” With that, Minhyuk walked out of the door. 

“You made cinnamon rolls?” Hyunwoo asked. 

“They aren’t homemade, they are from a can, but I always eat them with sp-p-paghetti.” She grabbed the pills and the soda which Minhyuk had thoughtfully put a straw in. “Open your mouth please.”

He opened his mouth and she dropped two ibuprofen in his mouth before giving him a swallow of soda. 

She sat in his desk chair and scooted close to him. 

“Wait.” Hyunwoo said. “You see the little speaker over there? Can you turn it on? There is a switch on top.” Slipping his phone out of his pocket he turned a playlist on low. When his phone connected to the speaker, 90’s R&B played on low. 

“You’re sick, so we’re not going to listen to Minhyuk right now. But you do have to eat your vegetables.” She held up a cinnamon roll. He took a bite and savored the sweetness. 

Slowly she fed him. He devoured the spaghetti and even ate all the green beans. Polishing off the cinnamon roll, he felt comfortable. 

“Thank you Liah. I know this is a lot. Especially for someone you just started talking to.”

“You let me sleep in your bed after a nightmare, even though you barely know me. This was nothing.” She whispered. She stood up and went to walk out with the dishes.

“I don’t want you to leave.” He whispered.

She stopped and looked at him for a long while. He met her eyes. 

“I’ll be right back.” She finally said. She left, shutting the door softly. 

He pulled her note from the pillow, and opened it. He smiled. There was a cartoon drawing of Minhyuk, Jooheon, and him on the couch, talking.

_ Hyunwoo, _

_ The thought of hugging someone is thrilling and scary. Thrilling in the fact that I think affection sounds nice. Scary in the fact that my family is not affectionate at all. The earliest memory of me trying to hug my mother was her stiffening and pushing me away. The relationship you have with Minhyuk and Jooheon sounds lovely. The comfort that you get from one another is nice.  _

_ It doesn’t bother me that you grab my hand. It makes me realize that I am becoming rigid. The more rigid I become, the harder it’s for me to speak. It reminds me to take a breath and get out of my head. That no one is going to hurt me at that moment.  _

_ I see my therapist mostly through video chats, around two times a week. More if it is a really bad week. I told her how you guys caught me dancing and releasing energy. She encouraged me to try and get to know you saying that I can’t shut everyone out forever. She would actually like to “meet” you sometime.  _

Hyunwoo’s door opened and Maliah came back in. He shoved the note back under his pillow as she walked in with her textbooks and a box. 

“This is not what I actually had in mind.” He admitted.

She looked confused. “What did you have in mind?”

“I was hoping you would lay with me and talk.”

She opened her mouth and closed it. “I can’t lay with you. You’re injured and starfished on your bed.”

“Starfished?”

“Spread out.”

“I can move over.” He scooted towards the other end of the bed as far as he could. It left room for her.

“I w-w-w-will make y-y-y-you a d-d-d-deal.” She took a breath and flexed her hands. “I need to read a chapter. I will sit by you and read my book. If I’m okay after, I’ll lay with you.”

“It sounds good. Would you mind terribly if I read your note while you’re here? I didn’t get a chance.”

“It’s fine. I’m not embarrassed by anything I wrote. I do like communicating in that way though. It’s nice.” She grabbed her sociology book and climbed on the bed next to him. He dug her note out from the pillow and continued reading. 

_ All of you are welcome to come skating with me at any time. I have my own skates, but they have rentals there. It’s one of the things I’ve done since childhood. I told myself when I was a kid that as soon as I earn my own money, I’d have white skates with pink glitter laces and pom poms. And I do.  _

_ The drive-in. It makes me sort of anxious. I haven’t really analyzed why. I’ve spent time with you before alone. Maybe it is because it is all three of you. I don’t know. Can I let you know later in the week? _

_ I am about to use an expletive. I Fucking LOVE cake. LOVE IT. Lemon cake with lemon icing is my favorite. Yellow cake with chocolate icing and rainbow sprinkles is second place. I know the rainbow sprinkles don’t really add anything to the flavor, but they make the cake (or cupcake) look cheerful _

_There is a knock at my door and you aren’t here. I should probably go see who that is._

_ L _

He chuckled softly as he closed the letter. She looked up from her book questioningly, her glasses crooked as usual. He reached out a hand to straighten them and she flinched away. He dropped his hand immediately. 

“Liah what happened?” She began to shake her head no. “Liah, you flinch when I go to touch you, you constantly ask if I am going to hurt you, and I suspect the reason you are anxious about the drive in is that you are worried about being in a car with three people. Something bad happened, I can tell. But for me to not startle you, I have to know what happened so I know where not to put my hands, or how not to address you , or how not to scare you.”

He didn’t think it was possible for her eyes to get bigger, but she kept widening them and looking towards the sky trying to keep tears at bay. She scooted off the bed. 

“Liah, please don’t leave.”

“I don’t know how to do this!” She started crying. “I like talking with you. I like exchanging notes. But talking about everything that happened last year makes it come back like it’s still happening. Bringing it up causes nightmares.” She was sobbing hysterically at this point. “I know I need to talk about it. My therapist says the more I do the less power it has, but I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Okay.” Hyunwoo wished he could sit up, but he was basically incapacitated. “Okay, We can sort this out.”

Liah was crying so hard she was shaking and slowly backing up towards the door. 

“Please don’t run away. One I can’t go after you. I can’t really move. Two....Well, I don’t really have a two. Please come back.”

She had stopped moving backwards and her crying was a little less hysterical. 

“Come sit back down, please?”

Maliah shook her head and sat in the desk chair.

It was quiet, with the exception of sniffles and Maliah trying to catch her breath. 

“Let’s try this. How long ago was the last incident?” Hyunwoo asked.

Maliah stared into space for a minute. “Two weeks before the spring semester last year ended. They went ahead and moved me into this dorm early because I stay on campus and take classes year round anyway.”

Hyunwoo thought about it. Her stuff was here and unpacked when him and the other two got here. He thought of something else. 

“You live in Indianapolis and have a car, why would you stay on campus year round?”

Maliah shook her head again. “I lived in Indianapolis,” she corrected. “When I turned 18, my mother and father told me I was an adult and to get out. I had to get legally emancipated because otherwise my financial aid would be tied to them and they weren’t interested in giving me that information. I live here, in West Lafayette now. I don’t really go to Indy.”

He was astonished. “Your parents cut you off?”

She shrugged. “I knew it was coming. It was one of those things they always said to me growing up. How they couldn’t wait until I was 18 and would see that they were actually being gracious to me. How they couldn’t wait to see me fall on my fat ass and come crawling back.”

“Why did they have kids if they didn’t want to care for you?”

“Kid. One. Me. I was an accident. My grandparents on my mother’s side made her keep me and marry my dad.”

“Grandparents?”

“Both sides are dead.” She said matter of factly. 

“How is this easier to talk about than what happened last year?” He asked.

“I grew up knowing cruelty. I was fucking stupid when I got here. Thought everything was going to be much better so I didn’t leave my guard up. What happened was partially my fault for that.”

Hyunwoo shook his head. “You shouldn’t have to think people are going to hurt you.”

“I didn’t and look what happened. I am kind of falling into the same trap with you three and quite frankly, I can’t afford to. I don’t have the mental capacity to block off another attack. I graduate soon and then I am off for my masters. Hopefully some place away from Indiana.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I’ve applied all over. It all depends on the financial aid package I get. I’m in line to be first in my class in the entire psych program. I just have to see the money portion of it.”

Talking about her studies had relaxed her slightly. She’d stopped clenching her hands, and she hadn’t stuttered at all. 

“Tell me about your plans after school. I know what you are majoring in and that you want to do art and music therapy. Do you want to open your own practice?”

“I have two dreams. The main one is to open my own practice and focus on children and teens with depression and anxiety.” She paused for a minute and looked at him. “Have you ever been to camp?”

“N-no, I can’t say that I have.” He wondered where she was going with this.

“When I was a little girl, I used to watch all these movies about kids who went to camp and found their forever friends, and nice people to hang around and adults who encouraged their hijinks. I always wanted that. I thought I would find a friend. My dream would be to open a camp for kids with psychological disorders. Hiking, swimming, boating, art, and music, tons of therapy. I’d want them to see that they aren’t alone and that there is safety in numbers.”

“That sounds admirable.”

“It’s a long ways off, if it does happen.”

They were silent for a while when Maliah stood up. “I brought you my box of those heating pads. They wear out in about two hours. You’ll probably need someone to put on a new one. I’m sure Minhyuk can do that for you if you text him. 

“You could stay,” he said quietly. “Stay and put it on.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea. Good night Hyunwoo.” She gathered up her books and left the room, closing the door behind her. 

Hyunwoo put his face down in his pillow and screamed. Grabbing his phone he sent Minhyuk a text.


	11. Chapter 11

“So you upset her, made her cry, calmed her down, and she left?” Minhyuk sat on the bed next to Hyunwoo. 

“Yeah. I keep pushing. Maybe I should stop pushing?”

Minhyuk shrugged. 

“I like hanging out with her Min. She’s driven, focused, smart.” He put his face down in his pillow. 

“She knows how to cook. She doesn’t measure anything, just throws whatever she needed into a pot.” Minhyuk added. 

There was a tap at the door. 

Minhyuk yelled for whoever to come in. Maliah cracked the door. “I was making sure you called Minhyuk to change the patch on your back. It’s handled, so I am going to bed. She went to close the door.”

“Wait.” Hyunwoo called out. “I want to apologize. You’ve told me twice now that you don’t feel comfortable talking about it. I’m sorry for upsetting you and trying to force the issue. I won’t bring it up anymore.”

Liah nodded and without any other word, walked out of the door. 

Hyunwoo and Minhyuk looked at each other. 

“I think you are back at square one.” Minhyuk said. 

Hyunwoo sighed and buried his face in the pillow again. 

His friend patted his shoulder and stood up, slowly taking the patch off his back. “How does your back feel?”

Hyunwoo shifted around. “I kind of feel like I could get up and walk.”

“I don’t recommend it. Get some sleep and see how you feel in the morning. He applied the new patch and within moments Hyunwoo felt the heat blossom on his back. 

“Ah goddddd yesssssss!!!!” 

Minhyuk snickered. “If you are that loud during sex, it’s a wonder you never got caught.”

“I don’t think sex ever felt this good.” Hyunwoo moaned as he took up the majority of his bed again. 

“That’s the true pity. I’m headed to bed, text me if you need me.” He threw a blanket over Hyunwoo and walked out. 

Hyunwoo buried himself in his blanket and tried to get some sleep. His dreams consisted of people running in different directions, a really weird tug of war, and a slice of lemon cake chasing him. When his alarm went off in the morning, he didn’t feel rested at all. Gently he slid out of bed and stood to his full height. Though he still felt the twinges of a pulled muscle, it was nowhere near the pain he would normally be in. He could take pain relievers and be in good shape for his day. Quickly getting dressed, he threw his books in his backpack, along with some of the writing paper. 

Walking out of his room, he saw Liah had two notes on her door, but the door was still shut. He headed out the door, hoping to catch breakfast before his first class. 

Sitting down to breakfast, he realized he didn’t know what to write to Maliah. He went to google to find friendship poems and meanings. Searching while eating his breakfast burrito, he happened upon something that made him smile. He saved it, because he needed to get going. 

His classes passed easily until his lab. Trudging into the lab Casey was sitting there, eyes on the door. When she saw him she smiled brightly. Gently sitting on the stool minding his back, he nodded and got out his books. 

“Did you have a good weekend?” Casey asked. 

“Yep.”

“That’s good.” She saw that he wasn’t speaking and went silent. The teacher called the class to attention and announced that they would be getting new lab partners. 

“I think it is good and fosters a learning environment where you learn to work with different personalities.”

Casey snapped her pencil.

Hyunwoo glanced at her. “Are you okay?”

Ignoring him, she raised her hand. “What if we are okay with the lab partners we have now?” 

“That is great you have learned to communicate and work with one person. We want to foster that growth in other ways.” The professor caught Shownu’s eye and nodded.

“Why did he nod at you?” Casey demanded.

“Excuse me?”

“Did you ask to switch? What did I do to you!?” Her voice was getting louder and hysterical. 

“Uh…”

“Miss, if you could calm down so we can hand out new assignments.”

“WE WORK SO GOOD TOGETHER! IF YOU WOULD JUST OPEN YOUR EYES!” Casey grabbed his wrist with an iron grip. 

“What in the-get off of me!” He tried prying her hand from his wrist, but she had the strength of someone who had just snapped.

The professor tried to separate them and she was shrieking. He finally yanked away from her, tweaking his back again. 

“Oh god.” He nearly went down but caught himself on the table. A tall man with dark long hair walked up. 

“Are you okay?”

“My back. I hurt my back before I came in, it was fine, but when I yanked out of her grip I twisted it again. I need my phone.”

While all this was going on Casey was screaming and making a scene while the professor was trying to calm her down. 

“Do you live on campus? I have a car and can drop you where you need to go.” The young man said quietly. 

“Please. It will save me from having to call my friend. He’s on the other side of campus.”

“Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” Gently he grabbed Hyunwoo’s arm. Together they shuffled out of class and out of the building. 

“I’m Hyunwoo by the way.”

“Hyungwon. What happened back there?”

“She has been showing interest in me outside of the lab. I let her know on Friday that I wasn’t interested. My roommate has been ah...hanging out with her friend and she went to dinner with them and espoused some ideas about the relationship we are meant to have. I don’t think she is alright.”

“No, she doesn’t seem alright at all. “ Hyungwon snorted. Slowly they made their way to Hyungwon’s car. 

Hyunwoo directed him to his dorm and they arrived shortly at the back parking lot. “Do you need help getting upstairs?” Hyungwon glanced at him. 

“No, I got it.” Hyunwoo got out of the car and began shuffling towards the door. 

“Nah, you don’t.” Turning off the car, Hyungwon hopped out to lend a hand. 

“You’re going to get a ticket.” Hyunwoo said through clenched teeth.

“Let me worry about that.” Steadying Hyunwoo on his arm, they made the slow journey to the elevators and up to his room. Once they got to his door, they both heard music playing. 

“I need to knock. One of my roommates...she’s a little skittish and I don’t want to scare her.”

Hyungwon knocked loudly. The music cut off and a minute later Maliah answered the door wearing Hyunwoo’s sweatshirt. 

She saw Hyungwon first who was just staring at her and then Hyunwoo. 

No one said anything until Hyungwon spoke up “You said your roommate was a girl, you didn’t say she was hot.”

“Um…” Maliah looked over at Hyunwoo who was gawking at her. “You went to class with your back like that?”

“I was feeling better. I walked out of here. Then, well…”

“He was attacked by some girl in our lab.” Hyungwon said. “Where is your room?”

Hyunwoo began shuffling towards his room. “Thank you for all of your help Hyungwon. I appreciate it.” 

“No problem. That was hard to watch. Do you have it from here?”

Hyunwoo nodded. Hyungwon let him go and turned toward Maliah who was heading to her room. “Hey, what’s your name?”

Maliah turned to see him addressing her. “Maliah,” she said quietly. 

“You want to go get a coffee?”

Hyunwoo stopped in his tracks. 

“No thank you,” she walked into her room and shut the door.

“She’s really shy.” Hyunwoo explained. 

“She’s cute.” Was all Hyungwon would say. He looked over at Hyunwoo. “Oh. I didn’t realize you had a thing for her.”

“I don’t. She’s my friend. Sort of? I’ve pissed her off.” Hyunwoo shuffled towards his bedroom. 

“The next time someone flirts with her or asks her out, have them take a picture of your face. That is not a ‘she’s just my friend’ look.” Hyungwon walked toward the front door. “Take care of yourself, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.

“Thanks again Hyungwon. Maybe you’ll end up as my lab partner.”

Hyungwon smiled and left.

Shuffling the rest of the way to his room, Hyunwoo dropped his backpack and shut his door. Easing gently down on his bed he sighed as he prepared to lay down. There was a tap at his door. 

“Come in.”

Maliah opened the door. “Do you need a patch put on your back?”

He nodded. “Can you help me get my shirt off?”

“I could just lift it and apply the patch.”

“I don’t really like anything touching me when I’m like this. I want my pants off too, but I’ll wait until Minhyuk gets home to help with those.”

Maliah was silent for a minute. “Do you have on underwear?”

Hyunwoo looked startled. “What?”

“As long as you have on underwear, I’ll get you undressed.” She said quietly. 

“O-okay.” 

Stepping in front of him she looked at him as if he were a puzzle. “Lift your arms as high as you can without it hurting.”

Hyunwoo lifted his arms so that his elbows were at chest level. She lifted his shirt and pulled his arms through without him having to do anything. Deftly folding it she put it on his desk.

“How did you learn how to fold that fast?” He asked her. 

“My first job was at a clothing store. You fold a lot at the end of the night.” Her eyes were focused on his nightstand. 

“Are you okay?” he asked her concerned. 

“I’m a virgin. I’m not dead.” Was her reply. Shaking her head, she focused on his face. “Is it easier for you to stand up, or for you to lift your hips off the bed?”

Hyunwoo was still puzzling over her phrase and took a minute to respond. “Um, hip lift.”

Stepping forward she stood in between his legs. “Unbutton your pants please.”

Hyunwoo was a mess. He didn’t know whether to look at her, the wall, the ceiling. He should probably wait for Minhyuk, but he wouldn’t be home for hours and he wanted out of these pants. 

Looking at his lap, he unbuttoned the four buttons to his pants. 

“Ready?” Maliah looked at him. He nodded. 

“Lift.” Bracing his weight on his arms, he lifted his lower body. “Please hurry. It really hurts.” He panted with the effort. 

She slipped her hands to the waist of his pants and began tugging them down. He felt himself getting hard. “Fuck.” He uttered the word exasperated. 

“Are you hurting wors-oh.” She looked and saw what the problem was. Taking a deep breath she continued pulling them down. “It’s a natural reaction, you know? You have a girl pulling down your pants. It's fine. You aren’t going to do anything stupid, right?” 

He was silent as she pulled his pants off his legs. Folding them she sat them on top of the shirt. She noticed he hadn’t said anything. “Right Hyunwoo?”

“당신한테 키스하고 싶어요.” Was all he said.

“Pardon?”

“Sorry, nothing. I’m not going to do anything stupid.” He counted to 10 and calmed down. 

“Do you want to be under the covers or not after I apply the patch?”

“Under.” 

Maliah pulled the blanket from under him and set it to the side. Hyunwoo laid on his back and waited. He couldn’t really see her, but he heard her pull the patch out of the box and remove the backing. She pressed it gently on his back and his eyes nearly crossed at the welcome warmth.

Throwing the blanket on him, she went to walk out of the door.

“Please stay.” He said it quietly. 

“Not a good idea.”

“I promise I won’t push anymore.”

“It’s not just that. I don’t know how to be around you guys. I don’t know how to be around anyone. You weren’t wrong with your guess about the drive-in. I shouldn’t live my life this way, but I do. I am constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the kill shot.” She walked up and squatted so she could look him in the face. “You seem like a nice enough guy. All of you do. But I’m not fit to be friends or whatever else you were thinking of” He must have looked startled. “Like I said, I’m a virgin, that doesn’t make me stupid about sex or relationships. I see how you look at me sometimes.”

His ears burned red.

“If I can’t process friendships, I definitely can’t do anything with that.” She walked out of the room but came back shortly with a glass of water with a straw, and two pain pills. 

“I can’t take those, I just took some a couple of hours ago.” He explained.

She nodded and set everything on the nightstand, along with his phone, and went to walk out. 

“Liah. Please. I’m not asking for a relationship or sex. I’m asking you to let me in. Let me be your friend. Everyone could use a friend. You said you don’t know how to be around us. You cooked dinner with Min and painted his nails for some weird reason. You ate breakfast and lunch with me and talked. We talk through notes constantly. You are doing just fine.” He was speaking so rapidly because he felt that this was his last chance.

“Can you just, give me some time? I need to process this and everything else.” 

“Take all the time you need.”

“Bye Hyunwoo.”

“Bye Liah.

She walked out of his room, leaving the door open. 

With nothing really to do, He reached for his phone, turned on a playlist and went to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 당신한테 키스하고 싶어요 = I want to kiss you.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My head is ringing and I am feeling a little down. I figured maybe getting a chapter out would help.

“Hyunwoo, wake up.” He turned sleepy eyes to Liah. 

“I need to change your patch and I don’t want to be tugging at your body while you’re asleep.”

“Okay.”

Gently prying off the old patch and adding a new, she went to walk out of the door. 

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She paused at the doorway. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m literally always hungry.”

Suppressing a laugh she walked out of the room and came back with a bowl of spaghetti heated up. 

“Cinnamon roll?” He asked hopefully.

She shook her head. “There were none in the fridge. Everyone else demolished them. To be fair I only made one can, and there’s only 6 in a can.”

She sat on the desk chair and slowly fed him. It was mostly quiet except for the soft music and the scraping of the fork on the bowl. After she finished feeding him, she gave him his glass of water. Finishing up, she went to take the bowl out. 

“I’m going to ask you again to stay.”

“I can’t. I told you I need time, plus I have to get dressed for work.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, be mindful. You can’t keep asking me the same thing in the hopes of getting a different answer. That’s a manipulation tactic.”

He flushed. 

She walked out of the room without a backwards glance. 

Hyunwoo was basically lost. He took the pain pills on his nightstand as he fretted. After a while she walked back in. She was wearing a black sheath dress and black heels. “Do you need help with anything before I leave?

He shook his head. “I have to go to the bathroom, but Minhyuk will be back in a little while and I can hold it.”

She nodded and turned to leave. 

“Liah?”

She turned and looked at him. “You are capable of being an amazing friend. You didn’t have to help me today. But you did.”

“Someone hurt you. You didn’t deserve that.” With that she walked out of his room. He heard her leave out of the front door. 

He laid there and stewed in his own mind until he heard the door open. “Who’s there?” He called out. 

“Min.”

“Can you come in real quick?”

Min walked in to see him lying on his bed. “What happened? You left before I did today. I thought you were feeling better.”

Hyunwoo told him the story, including Hyungwon and him asking Maliah out for coffee.

“Wow.” Was all Minhyuk would say. 

“Have you seen Ashley today? Did she say anything?”

Minhyuk shook his head. “We’ve cooled off, I haven’t seen her in a couple of days. How about you try and sit up and we can see where you are with your back.”

Hyunwoo slowly sat up, wincing. 

“Wait a minute. How did you get your clothes off?” Minhyuk asked. 

Hyunwoo turned a brilliant shade of red. 

“Oh. Well then.” Minhyuk snickered. 

“It wasn’t anything. She was very matter of fact about it.”

“Then why are you about ten shades of red?”

“Just help me get to the bathroom please.” Standing up, he realized that he was feeling not at the point of being 100%, but he could move. Those patches were amazing. He was usually down for a couple of days at least. With Min trailing him, he went into the bathroom. Finishing up he washed his hands and came out. 

“Is Jooheon still in class?” He asked.

Minhyuk nodded from the couch. 

Walking slowly back into his bedroom, he rummaged around and found sweatpants. Grabbing his phone he sent a text, asking Jooheon for a favor. While he waited for an answer, he checked his email and sent notes to his teachers on his other classes, explaining what happened. He had a note from his lab teacher. He apologized for what happened today, saying he didn’t realize the woman was volatile. She’d been removed from the class and his new partner would indeed be Hyungwon. He also asked him to send him the name of the classes and teachers he missed today, so that he could corroborate what happened, just in case he missed points and assignments. 

As he was sending off the information his phone sounded with a text from Jooheon. 

_JL: Consider it done._

Reaching in his desk, he pulled out a couple of sheets of writing paper. 

_Liah,_

_It feels like everything changed in the blink of an eye. We were becoming friends, and now there is a strain. I know you said you need time to process and I plan on giving you that, so don’t feel you have to respond to this note. Getting to know you has been one of the brightest things in my life in a long time. You’re driven and smart. I like listening to you talk about your plans for the future._

_What happened to you is a shame, but it hasn’t been all bad. It made you. This person that is so empathetic to children, you want to teach them how to cope with their emotions in a way no one helped you. I hope you achieve everything you want and more._

Hyunwoo then copied the poem he found earlier. 

_I knew a man by sight,_

_A blameless wight,_

_Who, for a year or more,_

_Had daily passed my door,_

_Yet converse none had had with him._

_Thank you for the heating pads. I’ll replace your box of them ASAP. Enjoy the treats. I put them in the fridge._

_-H_

He folded the papers up and stuck them in the envelope. He turned his music to something a little more lively and pulled out the same book he was reading with Liah the past weekend. It had literally been two days and everything went to shit. He sighed and dove deep into some science fiction. It wasn’t two minutes before he remembered something. “Min!”

“What?”

“Come here please?”

Minhyuk walked into his room. “Yes?”

“If someone were to say to you ‘I’m a virgin, i’m not dead’ what would that mean to you?”

Minhyuk thought about it. “Was anything sexual happening?”

“No.”

“It honestly sounds like someone saying I’ve never had sex, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get urges. Why?”

“Liah said it to me, when she helped me take off my shirt but wouldn’t look at me.”

“Yeah, that’s what she meant. She finds you attractive.”

Hyunwoo didn’t know what he was supposed to do with that knowledge. At this point there wasn’t anything he could really do. Just then he heard the door open. Jooheon walked in his room carrying a paper bag. 

“As requested.” Jooheon set the bag on his desk and sat on the bed. “What are we gossiping about today?”

“Hyunwoo pissed off Maliah but she thinks he’s cute. Also he was attacked by Casey.” Minhyuk supplied.

“I wasn’t attacked, I was grabbed. I tried yanking out of her reach and twisted my back again. A really nice guy who’s going to be my new lab partner brought me back home...and asked Maliah out.” Supplied Hyunwoo. 

“You have had an eventful day. No wonder you asked for cupcakes.”

“They aren’t for me.” Hyunwoo said and turned red.

“Ah. That explains why you didn’t ask for chocolate.” Jooheon noted.

Hyunwoo slowly stood up and grabbed a pen. Minhyuk and Jooheon both watched as he scrawled her name on the bag and hobbled out of the room to put them in the fridge and the note on her door. 

Jooheon glanced at Minhyuk. “Did she respond to your note?”

Minhyuk nodded. “She said she’s not really in a mood to socialize with anyone, but realizes she left me with three blank nails. So she gave me the polish and just told me to return it when I was done.”

“Nothing else?” 

“Nah. She’ll come around. In the meantime, I’ll leave notes on her door about shows I like, and stuff I’ve seen. She can choose to answer if she wants. If she tells me to stop, I’ll stop.”

Jooheon nodded. Hyunwoo came back in. 

“Before you lay back down, do you want to get comfortable on the couch and we can watch a movie?” Jooheon suggested. 

Hyunwoo nodded, shut off his music, and they all moved to the couches in the living room. They spent the evening eating leftover spaghetti, chatting and talking about the movie. Eventually everyone went to their corners, but Minhyuk followed Shownu to change his patch. 

“You only have this one left.” Minhyuk noted as he went to apply the patch.

“I have to go out and replace her patches tomorrow. I’ll probably buy every box they have at the store. Thank you.” Hyunwoo said as Minhyuk smoothed the patch on. 

Minhyuk nodded and left, shutting the door on his way out. 

Pulling out paper, Hyunwoo began to write. 

_Liah,_

_I got word from my professor that the girl that grabbed me has been removed from class. The guy that brought me back to the dorm, his name is Hyungwon, he’s going to be my new lab partner. He seems very kind as he decided to take a stranger who was in pain home. I was going to call Minhyuk. I was glad I didn’t have to do that. He seems very...unbothered about everything around him. He even took your rejection in stride. Hopefully that doesn’t translate into his work. I have to keep my GPA up, but I really don’t like carrying people on assignments._

_I understand you are mad at me, but please don’t take out any feelings you have about me on Minhyuk. He really likes getting to know you, and he would be the best friend you’d ever have. I would know. He’s been mine since before we were born. Our families are neighbors and our moms were pregnant at the same time. They did things together all the time during pregnancy. There is a picture of them standing belly to belly that both me and Min have a copy of. My mom said whenever they did that, we’d both start kicking, as if we were eager to meet each other. He’s always been there, and it’s going to be weird when we get back and not be side by side all the time. He’ll want to live in the city._

_I’ll miss Jooheon too. He’s promised to visit and bring his mother when we get back. I’ve gotten lucky with his friendship. I don’t have many friends, but the ones I do are invaluable._

His pen hovered over the paper as he debated what he was about to write next. She’d shared so much with him. He couldn’t see a reason why to not share with her. 

_You spoke of intimacy in the form for being physical with someone. Sex. I’m a bit more old fashioned I think than Minhyuk is. There is nothing wrong with the way he lives his life. He has consentual sex. He makes sure that the other person knows he’s not looking forever, that he’s looking for right now. As long as there are no hurt feelings, I don’t see what the problem is, you know? But being that close with someone I barely know, I can’t imagine it. I had a girlfriend before I left Korea. We broke up shortly before I got accepted to this program. I have a lot of guilt because we should have broken up a lot sooner. I didn’t feel as strongly for her as she did for me. I tried to tell her, but anytime I would try to initiate the discussion, something would happen. The final straw was her telling my mom I had proposed. It sort of broke my mom’s heart, though the girl didn’t realize. My mom figured I would have told her first before asking anyone (she isn’t wrong). It was the push I needed. I finally broke it off, and nothing she would say or do would change my mind. She was being manipulative, hoping I wouldn’t say anything and go along with it. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with someone who would do that._

_There was also the fact that she didn’t understand that sometimes I feel...odd. Like I don’t belong in my skin. When I get like that, the last thing I want is to be touched. I understand that I am fairly physical in my affections, but there are times when I am just...not, and she never understood._

He ended the note there for now, in the hopes she would write back to him. He began a small drawing on the bottom. He was not an artist, even in the slightest, so he drew a stick figure reading a book. Sticking the note in his desk, he opened his door to peek out. The note on her door was gone, so that meant she was home. He wondered if she’d grabbed a cupcake. He shut his door and headed to bed. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Attempted Assault
> 
> Today we get a lot of backstory on Liah and why she is so skittish around her roomates. I hope I do her story justice. 
> 
> So I am in a great mood. I have had 200 hits to this fic, my YouTube page just hit 100 subscribers, and I just started Chapter 55 on this. So you get an extra chapter this week. Have a great weekend and stay warm!

  
  


In the middle of the night Hyunwoo woke, needed to use the restroom as well as take a pain pill. Gently shuffling off his bed, he walked to the bathroom and heard soft crying coming from Liah’s room. Quickly taking care of business, he grabbed a glass of water and gently tapped on her door.

“You don’t have to respond, as I know how you feel, but I wanted to let you know I heard you and you don’t have to be alone. If you want me to go away, knock twice. If you want me to stay, knock once.” He waited.

One quiet knock sounded on the door. 

“I’m not going away, but I can’t sit on the floor right now, I need to go get a chair. I’ll be right back.” Walking to his room as fast as he could, he grabbed his blanket and his chair. Wrapping up, he sat back and cleared his throat.

“Rough day? One for yes, two for no.”

She knocked once. 

“I’m sorry. Did the cupcakes cheer you up at least?”

Another knock.

“That’s good. Was it work that was hard?”

Two knocks.

“Does your job as a curator make you happy?”

There was a knock, a long pause and then another knock. 

“So it’s tolerable is what I think you are saying. Not something you would want to do in the long term.”

A single knock. 

“I couldn’t imagine having to dress up every day for work. Dressing up is okay sometimes, but not for a long time. I get so uncomfortable.”

Another knock. 

He was quiet for a while, not really knowing what to say. Maliah opened her door. Standing there in sweatpants and his sweatshirt she looked at her feet for a while. When she looked at him and her eyes were swollen from crying, her glasses crooked as usual on her face. 

“I f-f-f-f-feel guilty.” She said quietly.

“Why?”

“T-t-t-t-t-” She sighed. 

“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere.” He said softly. 

“I need to tell you some things,” she said slowly, “but I am tired. I feel defenseless. The best night of sleep I’ve had in a long time is sleeping with you, and I feel g-g-g-guilty for even asking because I know I haven’t been the best person. But the nightmares are overwhelming.” Tears started falling. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

There were a million things he could say. He just held out his hand to her. “We can talk in the morning after your classes. Would you be more comfortable in my room or yours?” 

“Yours please. I can’t be in here right now.”

Wrapping his blanket around him, he grabbed the chair with the hand not holding hers and led her into his bedroom, shutting the door. 

“I’ll get in first, and move as far as I can towards the wall, to give you some space. You can get in after. Do you want music?”

She nodded. 

He put his nighttime playlist on softly. Sliding in bed he moved as much as he could to the other end and waited for her. 

Slowly she took off his sweatshirt. Under it she had on a plain white t-shirt. He rolled to his side so she wasn’t undressing while he was staring at her. She slid into his bed, facing the opposite direction. 

“Go ahead and turn off the light. I’ll talk to you in the morning when you’re ready. Goodnight Liah.”

“Goodnight. Thank you.”

“It’s what friends do.” He closed his eyes and dozed off. 

Minhyuk woke up the next morning and promptly went into Hyunwoo’s room to make sure he took some sort of pain pill and was stopped in his tracks. Hyunwoo was laying on his back, sound asleep with Maliah asleep on his chest. His arm was wrapped around her. They both looked peaceful. 

Creeping back out of the room, he closed the door. Walking into Jooheon’s room he poked at him. Jooheon didn’t even open his eyes, but lifted his blanket, allowing Minhyuk to slide in. 

“Maliah’s back in his bed again.” Minhyuk said. 

“I know. I heard them last night.” Jooheon’s eyes were still closed as he talked. 

“Really?” Min turned and looked at him. “The walls aren’t that thin.”

“No, not like that. He was talking to her through the door. She’s been having trouble sleeping. I hear her roam the common area at night sometimes when she can’t sleep. Sometimes she leaves. I don’t know where she goes.”

“How do you hear all this?”

“I’m a super light sleeper. That’s why if something ever happens between those two, I pray it happens in her room.” Jooheon cracked an eye. “What are you doing here anyway?” 

“You know he’s not waking if he doesn’t have to, and he doesn’t have classes today. I wanted to make sure he took some type of pain reliever before he got stiff.”

“Mmm.” Jooheon’s eye closed. “I’m going back to sleep. You’re welcome to stay, but I am exhausted.”

“Thanks, but I’m going to go get breakfast and head to the library. I have some stuff I need to do.”

Jooheon haphazardly patted Min, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Min felt his heart ache. 

It wasn’t a secret to Hyunwoo that Minhyuk was bisexual. He never had a problem with it. “You love who you love, that’s not a big deal.” He remembered the day when they were teenagers and he finally told Hyunwoo. He’d rushed to assure him that he wasn’t attracted to him and hoped they could still be friends. 

“Even if you were attracted to me, I hope we’d still be friends. You’re my best friend, and I love you. Who you care for or who you bring to your bed isn’t going to change that Min.” Hyunwoo gave him a hug and went right back to fishing that day. 

Hyunwoo’s solid consistent love and encouragement went a long way for Minhyuk. He’d had relationships and partners over the years, and never felt uncomfortable about it. They’d all been women though. He knew he liked men, he just hadn’t found one he wanted. 

Until Jooheon. 

Things were complicated. He was their roommate. They all got along so well, and he didn’t want to ruin that. He didn’t even know if Jooheon liked men. He never brought women back to the dorm, though he did chat them up at parties, and occasionally found himself in a dark corner with one. He was warm and had no compunctions about giving affection to Hyunwoo or him. Minhyuk sighed as he picked up the books he needed and shoved them in his bag along with his laptop.

“That sounds like the sigh of a man with a story to tell.”

Minhyuk whirled around and saw Jooheon staring at him. “What are you doing up?”

“You know, I was dozing off when I woke up suddenly.” He smirked, letting an errant dimple show. “None of us are early risers. While I believe you woke up to make sure Hyunwoo took a pain pill, I don’t buy you going to the library this early. So are you going to talk, or are you going to lie to me again?” Jooheon gently took the bag out of his hand and set it on his desk. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” Minhyuk had a slight facial tic. It wasn’t noticeable unless you were looking for it. Hyunwoo called it his ‘winky blink’. One of his eyes blinked faster than the other. The only time it was super noticeable was when he was nervous. 

Like right now. 

“Don’t ever play poker without sunglasses Min.” Jooheon chuckled. “Seriously, what’s up?”

“I-” Minhyuk sighed. “I like you Jooheon.”

“I like you too Min, you know that.”

“No.” He got into Jooheon’s personal space. “I don’t think you understand.”

Jooheon smiled at him. It was a soft smile. “I assure you, I very much understand.” Gently grabbing his chin, he lowered his mouth onto Minhyuk’s.

It was one of the sweetest first kisses Minhyuk had ever had in his life. It was soft, warm, and all encompassing. He couldn’t really think when Jooheon’s mouth was on his. Minhyuk tried to walk him back to the bed, but Jooheon stood firm where he was. Pulling Minhyuk by his hips, Jooheon opened his mouth slightly, allowing Minhyuk’s tongue to enter. There were no sounds except for the quiet smacks of kissing and soft moans. Finally Jooheon pulled back. 

“I’m a fairly simple man Minhyuk. But I have rules for myself. I won’t be treated like the women you’ve seen. Like I’m a toy to play with and toss aside when you’re tired.”

“I wouldn’t-”

“You have and you would. You assuage your conscience by making sure they know that you aren’t looking for forever with them. But a lot of those women still end up crushed. I know the speech Min. You may not be looking for forever with me, but I will be treated with respect. Understood?”

Dazed, Minhyuk only nodded. 

“Why don’t you go ahead and go study, while you figure out what respecting me is. I’m going back to sleep.” With one more kiss, Jooheon left Minhyuk's room. 

Minhyuk grabbed his backpack and left the dorm in a fog. 

* * *

Hyunwoo woke engulfed in Maliah’s scent. He was beginning to believe it wasn’t just her perfume, but actually just her. Looking down, she was still asleep, laying on his chest. Gently, he pushed her hair out of her face. That little motion was enough to wake her. She looked at him. 

“You’re safe, I’m not going to hurt you. You’re in my bed, you couldn’t sleep, you asked to sleep with me. Nothing sexual happened. We just slept.” He said everything slowly so she could process it. 

“I know, I remember. Thank you for affirming though.” She wasn’t as fast to move from his arms as she was the first night. 

“It’s...late. Are you missing classes?” He asked hesitantly. 

“Yes, but I have paperwork on file for days like this. It will be fine. I actually have something to ask you. If you aren’t busy today, do you want to meet my therapist?” She blinked and started to rub her eyes. “I figured I’d meet with her, and then I could talk to you about… Stuff.”

“That’s fine. I need to go to the store today as well as try and get to the garden area to grab seeds if I can.”

She looked at him for a minute. “Do you have a driver's license that is legal here?”

“I do, but I don’t feel comfortable driving. Jooheon doesn’t have class today, he’ll take me or I’ll catch the bus.”

She focused on his mouth for a moment before dragging her eyes back up to his. “Does the garden area have a place to sit?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Let’s do this. I’ll shower and get ready. You can do the same after me. I’ll take you to the store, and I’ll bring my laptop with me. I’ll have my therapy session in your garden.” She slowly slid out of bed. “Hyunwoo. Thank you. I know I don’t deserve, well, anything with how I act.”

“Kindness isn’t something you dole out based on a metric. It’s just how people should be. You can’t sleep, I can make it better. Simple as that.”

Maliah nodded. Walking out of the room she shut the door behind her. Hyunwoo sighed and laid in bed a little longer. He wished she was still here. He wanted to touch her. What’s more, he wanted to touch her and see actual pleasure on her face. Burying his face in his pillow, he screamed his frustration. Slowly he sat up and stretched. He was stiff, but felt better. Once he got some pain reliever in him, he would feel mostly back to normal. As he started pulling his clothes to wear for the day, he noticed she grabbed the sweatshirt before she left. He wondered if she ever planned on giving it back. 

Walking out into the common area, he noticed that Minhyuk’s door was open and Jooheon’s door was closed. Jooheon loved to sleep as much as Hyunwoo did, so he was probably still asleep. Texting Minhyuk, he walked over to the bathroom. Maliah’s door was shut so he assumed she was already done in there. Closing the door he began his day. As he began to shave, he had a message from Minhyuk begging him to go out this evening, just them. He needed to talk. He finished shaving and hopped into the shower. 

After he finished, he sent Min a text, confirming dinner tonight. He stepped out of the bathroom with steam billowing behind him and knocked on Liah’s door. 

He’d only ever seen her in her work dresses or oversized denim. Her work dresses were simple. They were black dresses, sometimes paired with a bright shoe, but most of the time even her shoes were black. Today she wore a purple sweater dress that went a little past her knees. Tights and black boots completed her outfit. She still had on the sweatshirt he loaned her. A black leather shoulder bag was slung across her body. 

“Are you ready?” She asked. 

He nodded. 

“You don’t have any gardening equipment?” She noted. 

“It all stays at the greenhouse. You’ll see.” He explained. 

She nodded and together they left the dorm. 

Driving to the store it was mostly silent between them. Hyunwoo honestly didn’t know what to say to her. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable though. The two of them lived in their heads a lot anyway, so it was more of that. As they arrived at the store, and got out of the car, he broke first. “Did you want to talk?”

She sighed. “I’m going to ask that you wait until after my therapy appointment. I’m not in the greatest of headspaces. I feel gross, and guilty, and just.. It’s a lot. 

He crossed to her side of the car. He wanted to touch her, but refrained. “I think I know what is going on in your head, and you can correct me if I am wrong. You didn’t use me. You didn’t take anything that wasn’t offered. As a matter of fact, any time you can’t sleep, you are welcome to sleep with me. Um, lay with me? Uh… You know what I mean.” He felt the burning from his ears. 

Liah suppressed a smile. 

“Let’s go.” He gestured towards the store. Grabbing a cart, he entered the building with her following behind. “Did you need to get anything?” He asked her.

She stared at him for a minute. “Yes, but it’s sort of personal.”

He thought about it. “Do you want to split up and just meet at the front?”

She nodded. Picking up a basket near the door she made her way into the large store. 

Hyunwoo began his browsing. Picking up razors, deodorant, and conditioner, he rolled around until he saw the heating pads. “She wasn’t kidding.” He said aloud. There were different shapes and sizes. 

In the end he bought 14 boxes. One to replace hers, one extra for her, and 12 for him. He saw a display of heating pads as well. He picked up one for him and one for her. He didn’t really need anything else, but wandered the store to make sure. For some reason he paused at the craft section. 

It was a small area of the store, but over in the corner he saw bins and barrels of fake flowers. Wandering over, he saw a bin filled with clusters of daisies. Looking around he saw an employee. “Excuse me?”

The employee turned to look at him. 

“How difficult is it to remove the fake flowers from the stem?”

The employee walked over and showed him that it was easy. All it took was a gentle tug and the blossom popped off the stem. Smiling his thanks, he scooped up a few, along with a few other flowers. Heading towards the front, he saw her standing and waiting with two bags of her own. He hurriedly dumped his purchases on the conveyer and waited for the cashier to ring him up. Sliding his card through the machine and finishing up, he gathered all of his bags. 

Liah’s eyes widened as she took in all his purchases. 

“I may have gone overboard on buying the patches.” He admitted. 

She burst out laughing. He wondered what he had to do to get her to laugh again. It changed her whole face when she did it. She looked less guarded.

They walked out to the car and she popped her trunk so they could put their purchases in.Getting back in the car she looked at him. “Do you want to pick something up to eat or would you rather eat inside some place?”

Hyunwoo thought about it. It was kind of a chilly day. “Let’s eat inside.” 

Maliah nodded. “Any food suggestions? I am not really p-p-picky.”

“Burgers, please.”

She nodded and pointed the car in the direction of campus. Pretty soon she pulled into the parking lot of Triple XXX Diner. While the name made the place sound taboo, it was actually a family friendly restaurant on campus. It had cheap good food that was plentiful.

Hyunwoo went with the burger that had a smear of peanut butter on it, while Liah opted for the breakfast menu of hashbrowns and eggs. As they ate, Hyunwoo spoke up. “Were the cupcakes okay?”

“I’ve only e-e-eaten the l-l-lemon one so far. It was really g-good. Thank you for that. I’d been feeling rough, and it cheered me up.” She smeared ketchup on her hashbrowns as she spoke. 

“I’m glad.” He took a massive bite out of his sandwich, savoring the creamy peanut butter. 

She looked at his sandwich suspiciously. “How is that edible? It’s peanut butter on a hamburger.” 

“I am not sure, but it works. Bite.” He held out the hamburger. 

Maliah turned up her nose. 

“Biiitttte.” He cajoled, waving the burger in her face. 

Tentatively she took a small bite and chewed. “It’s not horrible, but not something I’d ever order.”

“When we first got to the program here, the Asian union group took all the new transfers here. I came back three more times by myself that week to eat this.” He wolfed down his sandwich and started on his fries. 

“If you eat like this a lot, I see why Minhyuk worries about your vegetable intake,” she ate a mouthful of eggs before speaking again. “Do you still do activities with the Asian union?”

He shook his head. “I am not a joiner. They were nice, and helpful, but I don’t need activities all the time. I know Jooheon goes every now and again.”

She nodded. “I occasionally go to the Black student union. They were invaluable to me last year, but I am embarrassed to see them now. I only told them the tip of the iceberg last year, but they heard everything in student court. It was humiliating.”

“What is student court?”

“When you have a grievance or you do something wrong on campus and are caught by the campus police, you have to go to student court. It’s to save students from having an actual record.” She paused and stopped eating, pushing her remaining hashbrowns around on her plate. “The thing is, if you agree to the terms in student court, it leaves you unavailable to press charges with the actual police. I didn’t completely understand what I was doing, and because I didn’t tell everything that happened, everyone suggested I go to student court. It’s my fault she didn’t get expelled.”

He looked at her and saw she was wracked with both guilt and anger. 

“You have to let that guilt go.” He said. “I don’t know what happened, and I won’t pretend to know, but you were hurt, and you were doing the best you could with what information you had. The only person that should feel guilty is the person that hurt you.”

She wouldn’t meet his eye, but by her demeanor, he could tell she wasn’t in a great place right now. 

He straightened up and grabbed both of their meal tickets. “Why don’t you wait for me in the car.”

“I-I-I-I-”

“I know you can pay for your own,” he said gently. “You made and fed me spaghetti, and got me out of my clothes without joking about how bony I am. It’s fine. You can pay next time, I promise.”

Staring at him for a minute, she nodded. Sliding out of the booth, she walked out of the door and into the car. He glanced out the window and saw her head on the steering wheel and her shoulders shaking. Though he wanted to comfort her, It didn’t seem like a great idea. So he gave her what he could. 

Time.

“Can I have two milkshakes to go? One chocolate, and one strawberry please?” He asked his waitress. She nodded, added it to his ticket, and went behind the counter to get them made. Resting his hand on his head, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Jooheon asking about student court. 

Jooheon called him. “You about to go to student court? I can’t represent you, I am a business law student. Not personal.”

Hyunwoo snorted. “No. Are the records from the student court public? Like could I see the details of the case?”

“Mmm...drunk and drug cases yes. Some student versus student, also yes. But if a potential physical harm crime was committed against a student, then no. Those are sealed.” Jooheon explained. 

The waitress dropped off his shakes. He handed her the tickets and his card. “Thank you Jooheon.”

“No problem. I am going to offer you a bit of advice as well. Do not go digging. There are ways around sealed records, but if she hasn’t told you and she finds out you know, you are going to lose every bit of trust she has with you.”

“I didn’t say who it was about.”

“Hyunwoo, you talk to exactly 3 people daily. I know Min and I haven’t been to student court. Don’t invade her privacy like that.” Jooheon sounded as firm as Hyunwoo had ever heard him. 

“I won’t.” He promised. 

“Will you be home for dinner?” 

“Actually no. Minhyuk requested my presence.”

Jooheon snickered. 

“What?”

“I’ll let Min tell you. Do me a favor. Get Maliah’s number and ask her if it is okay if I text her.”

“Okay.”

They said their goodbyes. Hyunwoo signed the receipt and picked up the two milkshakes. Walking out to the car, he saw that she had gotten herself back together. Sliding in, he handed her the strawberry milkshake. 

“Thank you,” she whispered. 

“Your welcome.” He navigated her to the green garden lab he worked in. Pulling into the parking lot, he spoke up. “Jooheon wanted me to ask you, if you felt comfortable with him texting you.” 

She chewed her lip a bit and nodded slowly. “All three of you can have my number.” She gave it slowly to him, and he put it in his phone, texting Jooheon and Minhyuk. 

Her phone immediately began to beep. Opening her messages she had three messages from Minhyuk, and one from Jooheon. 

“No one ever really texts me. I keep my phone mostly for emergencies.”

“Minhyuk will text you constantly about every thought running through his mind at the time. Just a warning.” Hyunwoo said. 

“Jooheon?” She asked. 

“He sees something in nature and will snap a picture and share it with me to see if I know what it is. We have conversations during the day as well. He finds out what’s important to you, and makes sure he captures them for you.”

“What about you Hyunwoo? What do you text about?” 

“I talk about plants, food, or something funny I’ve seen. I’m not super talkative.”

She glanced at her phone before looking at him. “I am glad you have good friends.”

“They would be yours too, if you let them in.” He looked at her. She kept focusing on his mouth at times, and then back to his eyes. “Come on, let’s get you set up so you can have your therapy session, and I’ll work in the field.”

They walked into a brown building and Hyunwoo led her into a room. The room had rows of lockers and they stopped at ones that had the initials HS. 

“What is your last name?” She asked suddenly. 

“Son.” he pulled out an apron and some worn boots. Rummaging around he pulled out a kit of gardening tools. “What is yours?”

“Evans.”

Sliding the apron on over his head, he turned his back to face her. “Can you tie me please? I normally tie myself, but I don’t want to contort and possibly throw my back out of whack again.”

She gently tied his strings and stepped back. “You’re good.” 

He sat on the bench and removed his sneakers and replaced them with the worn muddy boots. 

“Should I have worn other shoes?” Liah asked, looking down at her footwear. 

“No. You’ll be sticking to the stone path and won’t be getting dirty.” Jamming his sneakers in his locker, he picked up his tools. “Can you grab my shake?”

She grabbed their drinks and followed him out of the building. 

“Oh!” she gasped. 

“I did the same thing the first time we were brought out here.” He grinned. 

The whole area was basically a grid. Stone pathways lead to dirt plots where flowers, plants, and vegetables were. Liah saw pumpkin vines growing fat pumpkins. A lot of the flowers had died off or been picked clean. Some of the plots were bare, ready for fall/winter planting. They came upon a bench next to a few plots. 

“You can sit here and have your session. The wifi from the building reaches out here if you need it. If you need me, just wave your hand, I’ll be three rows down and I will see you.” He explained.

“Should you be bending with your back sore?” She asked.

He pointed “Look down the rows.” Further down were standing troughs filled with plants. “I’ll be working from those today, harvesting as much as I can seed wise. Thank you for thinking of me though.” 

She nodded and sat down, pulling out her laptop and earbuds. Hyunwoo walked down to the standing troughs. He was far enough away that he couldn’t hear the conversation, but close enough that he could reach her if she needed him. He began rummaging through the flower remnants as well as pulling seeds from his hybridized lavender. About forty five minutes passed and he saw something out of his peripheral vision. He looked up and saw her waving to him. He grabbed his tools and headed over to her. 

Walking over he saw her eyes were swollen and sad again. He sat down next to her and reached for her hand. She pulled out an earbud, handed it to him, and grabbed his hand. 

“T-t-t-this is Dr. S-s-s-t-t-t-” She paused, taking a breath. “Dr. Stewart.” 

Hyunwoo looked at the screen and saw a black woman with a nose ring, yellow head wrap and bright red lipstick. “Hi. I’m Hyunwoo.”

“Hi Hyunwoo. I was just speaking to Maliah, and she stated you’ve let her sleep in your bed a couple of times?”

“She was having nightmares, and couldn’t sleep, so she climbed in bed with me.” He explained. 

“How does that make you feel?” Dr. Stewart asked. 

“She doesn’t have a support system, so it seems like it is hard to ask for help. It makes me feel good that she feels comfortable enough to ask me.” He answered honestly. 

“That is a nice way of putting it. I will caution the both of you, not to use sleeping together as a crutch. Maliah knows she needs to deal with her feelings.”

Hyunwoo glanced at Liah. She wouldn’t look at him but instead was focused on her therapist. 

“Hyunwoo, Maliah is going to talk to you about some things today. She wanted me to be here while she spoke as a support person. You will be in the notes of today’s call. You have the right to request only the notes that are pertinent to you. Are you okay with this?”

He nodded. 

“Maliah, sweetheart, it’s your show.” Dr. Stewart was quiet after that. 

Hyunwoo watched as Liah took a shaky breath. 

“When I was accepted into Purdue, my parents hit the roof. They didn’t see how hard I’d been working to get to this point. They told me they refused to let me go. The problem with that statement was that I was 18 years of age. They couldn’t hold me back anymore. When they realized that, they immediately threw me out.” She paused for a bit. 

Hyunwoo squeezed her hand to reassure her. 

“I got into my car and I drove to my high school campus. There was a counselor who helped me fill out my forms for college and helped me to find scholarships. I broke down to her and told her what happened.” Liah licked her lips before she continued. “Turns out she had dealt with something similar with another student before. She worked with me to get me legally emancipated, because she knew after this year I wouldn’t be going back to my parents. She spoke with contacts at Purdue and got me into a dorm early. There is a program called Upward Bound for high school kids. I got hired to be a counselor for the kids. It meant I lived on campus and had 3 meals a day and got paid. It was one of the best times of my life.”

She looked at Hyunwoo. “Though I had responsibilities, my time was my own. No one was putting me down. The kids liked me because I was close to them in age. I taught a few of them to play guitar. I picked up drawing and found, not only was I good at it, it brought me a little peace.”

Hyunwoo looked at the screen. Dr Stewart was listening intently, though he was sure she had heard all of this before. 

“Towards the end of the summer, I got my roommate assignment. She seemed sweet, she came from a super rich family so we really didn’t have a whole lot in common. We talked about what each of us was bringing to the dorm room. I’d saved money while working in high school, and had saved all my money from working that summer, so I could help to provide for the room as well. In the end she provided most of the things, said she had an ‘aesthetic’ for the room, and she wasn’t sure any of the stuff I was going to buy would fit into it. That should have been my first clue.”

“Your first clue to what?” Hyunwoo asked. 

“That this girl was batshit fucking crazy. Sorry Dr. Stewart.”

Dr. Stewart chuckled. “You don’t have your therapy license yet, so you are still allowed to call people batshit fucking crazy.”

Hyunwoo laughed, and Liah smiled a little. 

“When she got to the room, she brought her parents. She seemed to boss her own mother around, and her father was checked out, except when he was looking at my ass. We got our room set up and her parents took us both out to eat. I thought that was nice.” Liah picked up her shake and began to drink, handing Hyunwoo his as well. 

“Things were good at first. She was snooty, and wanted her stuff just so, but I could respect that. I kept my side neat and clutter free. Then she wanted to go to parties all the time. I’d go with her a lot, but she would start pressuring me to drink. Even before I was on medication I didn’t really drink. I don’t like the taste, and I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Then s-s-s-she started p-p-p-pushing for oth-her t-t-t-t- stuff. T-t-t-that I s-s-s-s-should dress a c-c-c-certain way. If s-s-s-someone she l-liked took an interest in me, she’d get mean and start pointing out flaws.” 

Hyunwoo’s hand felt like it was being clamped by a vice. He gently rubbed his thumb on one of her knuckles, trying to force her to calm down. 

“I decided t-t-t-that this w-w-wu-w-wasn’t working anymore.” Maliah took a deep breath and seemed to focus herself. “I stopped going out with her. I stopped hanging out with her. I was never in the dorm, and when I was, it was late and she was gone or sleeping. That pissed her off. Really pissed her off. I found out later, that she has a habit of picking people and them becoming her minions. I wasn’t minion material, so things started happening.”

Liah was silent for so long, Hyunwoo prodded her. “What things?”

“I only had o-o-o-one job at the time, and it was a c-c-c-c-crappy minimum wage job, so I was on a budget. Things like soap, shampoo, razors, began disappearing. My clothes would mysteriously have holes in them. Things that I struggled to replace. I did the best I could, and continued to ignore her, which I think made it worse.” She looked at Hyunwoo and grabbed her hair. “Do you understand that this is not all my hair?”

He shook his head no. 

“They are extensions. Hair that isn’t mine, twisted into my own. I had really pretty hair. When it was wet, it was to my waist. When it was dry and curly it was just a massive ringlet afro.” 

“Had.” Hyunwoo glanced at the screen. The doctor nodded imperceptibly. 

“I found out she had been putting hair removal cream in my shampoo. It caused my hair to fall out. I had chunks missing and had to get it cut.” Her eyes began to fill and the tears started falling. 

“How much natural hair do you have Liah?” He asked. 

“You know how I just said it fell to my waist?”

He nodded. 

“As of last month it just barely touched my shoulders.”

His eyes widened. “Oh my God.”

“I found piles of dirty tampons in one of my drawers I didn’t use. I couldn’t figure out why it smelled so rank on my side of the room. The final straw that got her called to student court was she set me up to be raped.” 

“WHAT!?”

Liah flinched back from him. 

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… Raped?!”

He saw the point where she basically checked out of her body. The story was being told on autopilot. There were no stutters, no life in her voice.

“She got some guy basically drunk as hell, and brought him back to our dorm, pushed him in our room and shut him in. He was so out of it, he thought I was her, and began stroking my face and trying to pull my pants down.” 

Hyunwoo stared in horror. 

“I screamed. I screamed as loud as I could, and fought. My RA burst through the door and pulled him off of me. I told her I didn’t know who that man was, or how he got in, as I had locked the door. The guy started drunkenly saying her name over and over. ‘Casey. Where is Casey?’

Hyunwoo’s blood turned cold. “Stop.”

Both Liah and Dr. Stewart turned to him. 

“Maliah, you don’t seem to be all there right now, but I really need you to focus. Does your former roommate Casey have green eyes, brown hair, and freckles?”

She nodded slowly. 

Hyunwoo turned pale and looked at the screen. Briefly he told Dr. Stewart what happened in his class, how the woman wouldn’t let go of his arm, causing him to wrench his back again. 

“Her name is Casey Needler. She was my lab partner up until Monday. They threw her out of class.” 

Everyone was silent. 

“Okay.” Dr. Stewart spoke. “I think this is enough for today. Maliah, give me your self care guide.”

Maliah wouldn’t answer. She was sitting there frozen.

“Maliah?”

No response. 

Hyunwoo looked at the screen. “I have her. What do I need to do?”

“If she needs to cry, let her cry. It’s okay to cry. Make her take a shower, have her journal her feelings or draw them if she can. Soft clothes. Just be there for her. Please. If things get worse and she starts breaking down completely, my number is in her phone under Dr. S.” She paused for a second. “I’ve been authorized by her to let you know that she has a prescription for anti anxiety medication. It is a bottle of Xanax and it should be in her room in her top desk drawer if she needs it. If she isn’t talking within the next three hours, she needs to take one.” Dr Stewart looked at him. “This is a lot young man. Are you sure you can handle this? If not, we may need to get her checked in for a 24 hour hold.”

“I’ve got her. When she feels better I will have her contact you.” Hyunwoo began gathering her bag. Maliah still hadn’t moved. He wasn’t even sure if she had blinked. 

“If either of you need anything at all please call me. My phone is on at all hours.” 

Hyunwoo nodded, thanked her, and signed off. Closing the laptop and taking the earbud out of his ear, he looked at her. She was still holding his hand but barely. She didn’t flinch as he pulled the other earbud out of her ear. He dropped them in his jean pocket. 

“Sweetheart,” the endearment slipped out of Hyunwoo’s mouth without thought, “I know you are shaken up, and I know you are anxious. I am going to get us both out of here, but I need my hand back to pack up.”

She let go of his hand and gripped the hoodie she had on. He quickly packed up the laptop. Standing up, he threw their cups away in the trashcan next to them. “Come on sweetheart.” He helped her up. Together they shuffled back into the brown building. He hurriedly put on his shoes. Holding his breath, he reached behind and tugged his apron strings. They came loose without him hurting himself. He sat down on the bench next to Liah to take off his boots. 

“She hurt you?”

He looked over, and saw her looking straight ahead, trying desperately hard to keep it together. 

“She did, yes.”

It was silent for a bit and she spoke again. 

“It’s my fault she’s still here. If I would have pressed charges…”

“It’s not your fault at all. She is responsible for her actions. It also sounds like her parents know she’s trash as they are paying for your medications and therapy. I do have a question though. What is to stop you from pressing charges now?”

“When you go through student court, you sign a form stating that you won’t try to push the issue forward with the police, and that the student court verdict stands.” 

“Their verdict on that case.” Hyunwoo thought out loud as he grabbed her bag. “What happens if I press assault charges? Because she assaulted, and technically injured me.”

“I don’t know.” Liah whispered. He glanced at her as he shuffled them both to the car and she looked awful. 

“I know you don’t know me that well, but you don’t look in a place to drive. I have a license. I can drive, and can get us back to the stadium if you don’t mind?”

Maliah pulled the keys out of her sweatshirt pocket and handed them to him without looking at him. She slid in the passenger seat and closed the door and waited. Sliding in the car he pulled out his phone and called Minhyuk.

“Min, I know we are supposed to go out to eat for dinner, but I am in the middle of...something. Can we have dinner in the dorm?

“Uh…I think so, but we need to be in my room.”

“That’s fine. Can Liah hear this? I can’t leave her alone right now.”

“It’s not a problem if she’s there. I’ll bring dinner. What do you want?”

“Hold on.” He glanced at Maliah who was looking out of the window. “What is your favorite comfort food?”

“Mexican. Anything Mexican.”

“Min-”

“I heard. I got it.”

“Use my card. Also use it if you take a ride share.”

“I’ll talk with you soon.” Minhyuk hung up the phone. 

Adjusting the seat, Hyunwoo turned on the car and began to drive back to the stadium. He reached for Maliah’s hand and she squeezed tightly. Pulling into the stadium he looked at her. “What do you need?”

“A nap, a shower, time to process.” She spoke at barely a whisper. “I’m sorry you had to cut your lab time short.”

“Not concerned about it. I got the seeds I was looking for. I was hoping to grab a pumpkin for the dorm, but they were red tagged anyway, so I couldn’t.”

“Red tagged?”

He slid out of the car and came around to open her door. She seemed sort of weak and he reached in to help her out. “I’m fine, I can walk, I promise. What does red tagged mean?”

“They are a project, not just something you can take, and they shouldn’t leave the area.” He popped the trunk and began pulling out bags. Her bag of purchased items was open and he could see inside. 

“Um. I have a mom. And I’ve had a girlfriend before. I’m not bothered by these products, just letting you know.” He handed her her bag and grabbed all of his. “If it’s personal because it’s embarrassing to you, that’s fine, but don’t think any of us in the dorm are going to go ‘pads gross!’ and freak out.”

“Casey made fun of me, called me an infant and child because I can’t use tampons very well.” 

Hyunwoo was baffled. “What infant has a need for a tampon?”

Startled Maliah looked at him. He was absolutely confused, which caused her to burst into laughter. “I never thought I’d laugh about any of the shit she pulled, so thank you.”

“No problem.” They began walking to the bus stop. “Are you feeling any better?” 

“Not really. I’ll be a bit better after I shower, take some medication, and a nap.”

“Do you want some company?”

Maliah turned and looked at him. “Are you asking to shower with me?”

Hyunwoo choked on air. “No! I was asking if you wanted company while you were sleeping, which possibly sounds worse.”

“No, you’re fine. I’d actually like that.” They sat on the bus and didn’t speak until getting back into the dorm. Hyunwoo took a good look at her once they were back in the dorm room. She looked exhausted. 

“Why don’t you get your shower? I’ll be in my room reading. If you change your mind and decide you want to be alone, that is fine too, just let me know.”

Maliah nodded and shuffled off to her room. He walked into his and shut the door. Taking off his clothes, he put on sweatpants and a t-shirt, and turned music on lightly. Picking up his book, he wondered if he was ever going to finish it. Soon he was enthralled with beings from another planet. After a while he heard a soft knock. “Come in.”

Maliah walked in. She had on soft pajama pants, a long sleeved t-shirt, and the sweatshirt over her shirt, unzipped. 

Hyunwoo took off his new glasses and carefully laid them on the nightstand, along with his book. “Did you take your medicine?” 

Liah nodded “I’m probably going to be asleep in 10 minutes as a result.” 

“That’s fine. That’s what you’re in here for.”

She slipped off the sweatshirt and climbed under the covers with him. He didn’t know what to do. He held her last night, but that happened while they were asleep. He decided to lay on his side as he had been, facing her. Liah laid flat on her back, and closed her eyes. He watched her for a bit and then closed his own eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple XXX Diner is an actual restaurant at Purdue. Upward Bound is an actual program across many college campuses in the country. I am not sure if it still exists, but it did when I was in high school. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think of Liah's story.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't tell you guys how thrilled I was with your notes. I am sort of glad you didn't see it coming, it makes me feel like I am doing something right. Onward!

Once again when his eyes opened, Liah was wrapped in his arms. He was half tempted to set up a camera to see how they ended up like this. She probably wouldn’t agree to that however. He was still on his side and she was backed into him, with his arm around her. He put his nose on her shoulder and breathed in her scent. 

“Mmm, why are you smelling me?” Her sleepy voice said.

“You always smell really good.” He admitted. 

Liah turned to face him. She looked a little groggy still. “You aren’t skinny.”

Hyunwoo looked at her. “What?”

“You said something about me not making fun of you being skinny earlier.” She whispered. “You aren’t skinny, you’re actually really built.”

Hyunwoo froze and looked down at her. She kept her eyes on his, and she looked a little fearful and a little nervous.

“I don’t know if I am reading this situation right, and I don’t want to scare you or make you feel bad.” He said quietly. 

“I don’t think you’re reading it wrong.” She kept her eyes on him. 

Hyunwoo felt nervous. His heart was lurching and his fingertips felt swollen. He went to touch her face and she flinched. 

“Don’t touch my face please.” 

He remembered back to her telling him that the guy kept stroking her face. He nodded and gently brought his mouth to hers. It was brief, a light peck before he pulled away and looked at her. 

“I’m okay. I promise.” She said quietly. 

He kissed her again, slowly. It was a somewhat chaste kiss, but it lit every nerve ending aflame for Hyunwoo. The feel of her, combined with how she smelled and tasted, was making him slowly lose his mind. He wanted more. He pulled her flush against him and let out a strangled moan. She pulled back slightly. 

“I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.” She admitted.

“It’s okay. Don’t apologize for seeing to your needs please. I’d never get angry at you for caring for yourself. Can you tell me how you’re feeling?”

“I just kissed my only friend. I feel kind of dumb, but also…”

“Also?” He prompted. 

“I want to do it again.” She admitted. 

“Well, we can parse through your feelings now, and kiss later, or we can kiss now and talk about feelings later.”

“I’ve honestly had enough of feeling like shit, which talking about my feelings always makes me feel.”

He kissed her nose. “Okay.” He hovered over her and kissed her softly again. He felt her hand tentatively slide under his shirt and grab his waist. He pulled back and looked at her. “You can touch me anywhere you like. I have times where I can’t really stand being touched, but that isn’t one of those times.”

She nodded. They continued kissing. Hyunwoo was more vocal than her with grunts and soft moans. She gently trailed her hands across his stomach and sides. He honestly didn’t want to stop kissing her, but he was hard as a rock and about to lose his mind. 

She arched up against him.

“Oh god! Oh god.” Grabbing her hips he pushed her down into the bed and rolled off of her.

“I’m sorry, what’s wrong?” She sat up and looked ready to run. He grabbed her hand gently. 

“Nothing is wrong, everything is absolutely right, a little… too right.” He sighed. “I don’t take...pretty much anything lightly, including this,” pointing from him to her, “But I’m still a human being and I still want to have sex.” 

It was quiet for a minute. 

“It’s going to be a while before I am ready for sex. I like kissing you, but I’m not in a mindset to go further anytime soon.” She admitted. 

“Text your therapist and let her know you are okay. I am going to see if Minhyuk is home.” He meant to only give her a quick kiss before he got up from the bed. It devolved into more. When she gently touched the tip of her tongue to his, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. “Liah, I have to stop.”

She slowly backed up and blinked at him. “Sorry. You came in for a kiss and I thought…”

“I know. Me too.” He slid off the bed. “I’ll be right back.” 

Walking out the room he saw a pile of food on the countertop in the kitchen. Crossing over, he knocked on Minhyuk’s door before opening it. Min was studying when he looked up and saw Hyunwoo. 

“Why didn’t you tell me food was here?”

“I heard you moan, and figured you were having a little alone time. I thought Maliah was with you? That was the whole point of us eating here. Her light is out in her room. 

Normally when Hyunwoo got embarrassed, the redness in his ears and face was gradual. He immediately turned brilliant red, almost purple. 

“Why are you so re- Oh shit!” Min connected the dots. 

“Minhyuk…” Hyunwoo warned. 

“Are we both banging the roommates!?”

“I’m not banging anyo- I’m sorry, did you say both of us?” He stared at his best friend. 

“I mean, we haven’t had sex, but he kissed me.”

“Jooheon kissed...you?” Hyunwoo felt like his brain was fried. “Let’s go grab Liah, sit on the couch, and you can spill your guts.” He turned and looked at Minhyuk. “No jokes to her Min. She’s had a shitty day. We both have. If she says it is okay, I’ll give you details.” Min followed Hyunwoo out of the room and began to fill his plate. Walking into his room, Hyunwoo opened the door. “You hungry?”

She was looking down at her phone. “Yeah. Dr. S warned the both of us about starting something during an emotional moment.” She kept looking down, not meeting his eyes. 

“We will go as slow as we both need. Okay? This isn’t a...Emotional moment thing. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a while.” He admitted. 

“The day I ran into you when you came out of the shower, I wanted to kiss you.” She glanced at him. 

He patted her hand. “Let’s grab food before Min eats it all.” Pulling her up he held on to her hand until they got to the food. 

Minhyuk had gotten chips, salsa, tacos, tamales, burritos, beans, and rice. Everyone served themselves and sat on the couch. “Go ahead Minhyuk.” Hyunwoo said as he began to eat a taco. 

For once in his life Minhyuk hesitated. He looked at Jooheon’s door. He knew he was out at the gym. 

“Min?” He looked over at Hyunwoo. “No one here is going to judge anything you say.”

“I-” He was quiet and started again. “I’ve had a crush on Jooheon for a while. I never said anything because, well, I’ve seen him with girls, and never with guys.”

“Minhyuk, he could say the same for you.”

“I know. That’s not important. This morning I woke up to make sure you took your pain pill.”

Liah’s head snapped up at that. 

Minhyuk smiled softly. “It’s okay. I saw you were in there and walked back out. I went to bug Jooheon and we talked for a minute, but he was sleepy, so I left. He came into my room because he caught me in a lie.”

“What was the lie?” Hyunwoo asked. 

“I told him I was going to study at the library this morning.”

Hyunwoo snorted. Liah looked confused. 

Min looked at Maliah, “none of us wake up early except for classes and to check on one another. I would have been asleep, had I known that Hyunwoo was okay.” He continued. “He asked me for the truth, and I told him that I liked him. He told me he was aware and he kissed me. He said he refused to be treated like the girls I’d hurt.” Min looked at Hyunwoo. “I’ve always been clear with everyone I’ve ever dated or been with that I wasn’t looking for forever.”

Liah spoke up for the first time. “Have you...Ever been with someone that you were well aware that they wanted more, but ignored it for your own pleasure?”

Minhyuk turned red. 

“J-j-j-j-just because you outline the rules, doesn’t mean you don’t have to follow them.” She pointed out quietly. “You have a responsibility to your partners, you know? It’s n-n-n-not on you to manage their feelings, but if you can tell they want-t-t-t more than you, you have a responsibility to ack-ack-acknowledge that.” 

Minhyuk looked at her astounded. It was the most she ever said to him. “Maybe you’re right, but I don’t know where to go from here.”

She was quiet as she bit into a burrito. “Do you like h-h-him?”

“Very much so.” Minhyuk admitted. 

“Show him. Show him in a way that makes him feel special. I think for a lot of people, it’s simple things that make you feel ch-ch-cherished.”

Hyunwoo listened to what she was saying and took a mental note. Minhyuk nodded and took a bite of tamale, chewing before asking, “You guys had a rough day?”

“I can’t tell the story again Hyunwoo.” Liah’s voice quavered. “There is still so much to it, and I just, can’t right now.”

Hyunwoo looked at Minhyuk. “Her former roommate, a person that was supposed to be her friend, hurt her. Badly. The same person that grabbed my arm and caused me to reinjure myself.”

Minhyuk choked on a chip. “Casey!?”

Hyunwoo nodded. 

He looked over at Maliah, who was slowly folding in on herself. Setting his plate down he walked over to her and knelt at her feet, holding both of his hands palms out. She slowly put her hands into his. 

“We are not her,” he said simply. “We won’t hurt you. Not physically, not mentally. None of us. It’s not who we are. It’s definitely not who he is.” He glanced at Hyunwoo who was watching. “I know it is going to take time for you to understand that, but if you do want to talk, any of us are here.” 

Hyunwoo nodded at her. 

“Yeah.”

Three heads turned to see Jooheon standing at the entrance. “I can’t promise I won’t accidentally hurt your feelings, because sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth, but we’d never do anything malicious.”

Tears were starting to fall onto Maliah’s cheeks. 

“You don’t have to say anything, or do anything right now. But we would love to go to the drive-in with you this weekend.” Minhyuk squeezed her hands “Jooheon has an SUV, so you can sprawl in the back with Hyunwoo. Will you give us a chance?”

“I am petrified.” Maliah admitted.

Jooheon walked over and sat beside Minhyuk. “Let’s make a deal. Come with us to the drive-in on Friday night. You get anxious, you feel uncomfortable, we leave immediately, no questions asked.”

Hyunwoo watched them both, his heart full. How did he get so lucky with such great friends?

Maliah glanced over at him. “This means a l-l-l-l-lot to you?”

“I’d like you to get to know us, yes.” Hyunwoo said.

“Okay. I’ll go. If I get anxious you’ll take me home?” 

“Without question.” Minhyuk said. 

Liah nodded and began to focus on her chips. As she slowly ate her chips, Hyunwoo wolfed down a tamale, a burrito, and two tacos. She watched in amazement as he ate as if it was his last meal. “D-d-d-do you always eat like this?”

Hyunwoo turned red. “I’m always hungry.”

“Ever since he was a kid, he’s always had a huge appetite. My mom always gave him double helpings when he stayed over,” Minhyuk scooped up a forkful of rice, “With the farm work and now working out, he stays lean, but also his metabolism is high.”

“H-h-have you ever been full?”

He nods. “I’ll be full after I eat for about 30 minutes, and then hungry again.”

Finishing most of her food, Maliah got up and put her plate in the sink. “I have to study,” She looked at Hyunwoo, “and I also need a little time alone.” 

“I understand. In my top desk drawer, there’s a letter I didn’t finish. You can have that.” He stood up and walked into his room to grab it and the things he got her at the store. 

“You only used one box, you didn’t have to buy me extra, but thank you very much.” She said. “What’s this?” she saw a medium sized package.

“A heating pad. You said you used these for your cycle. I thought this would help too. I got one for my back.”

“Thank you, that was very nice of you.”

“You’re welcome. Will you be staying in my room tonight?”

Liah shook her head. “Dr. S doesn’t think it’s a good idea for us to spend every night together. She’s worried I’m using you to get rid of the nightmares, instead of processing them and working through what is causing them.”

“I understand, but if it gets too bad, come in, okay?” 

She nodded and started to walk away. 

“Liah?”

She turned and faced Hyunwoo. Minhyuk and Jooheon were eating, pretending not to look at them.

He walked the two steps to her and kissed her briefly. “Goodnight.”

“N-night.” She walked into her room and closed the door quietly.

“Did I just see Hyunwoo kiss her? I didn’t just see that, did I?” Jooheon asked Minhyuk. 

“Yeah, it happened. It’s been an interesting day for all of us I think.” Minhyuk said. 

“You know, I can hear you two clearly, right?” Hyunwoo said. 

“Oh yeah, we’re aware.” Minhyuk and Jooheon said at the same time. They both started laughing. 

Hyunwoo rolled his eyes and began to wrap up the leftovers and put them in the fridge. “Jooheon did you get anything?”

“I didn’t know there was going to be a gossip and food session tonight, I stopped by the cafeteria and grabbed something.” He stood up and patted Minhyuk’s leg absentmindedly. “I have a little studying to do before crashing.” 

Minhyuk stared at him as he walked into his room and shut the door. 

“What are you going to do?” Hyunwoo asked quietly. 

“Listen to Maliah, figure out how to make him feel cherished.” Tossing his plate in the sink, he patted Hyunwoo. “Thank you for listening.”

“Anytime.” He smiled at Minhyuk as he went in his room and closed the door. Alone, Hyunwoo began to run water for the dishes and started quietly humming a tune. Finishing up, he turned out the light and was headed to his room when he stopped. Walking up to Liah’s room he pressed his ear to the door, and heard music. He tapped softly. 

She opened the door and saw him standing there. “Hey.”

“Hi. I know you need some alone time, but I just wanted to ask for one more kiss before I retire for the night.”

“Oh. Sure.” She grabbed his hands and pulled him into her room. All the lights were on today, as she was studying. Her hair was pulled up into a haphazard bun, with pens stuck in it. He didn’t notice earlier, but she had on mismatched socks again. One yellow striped and one blue striped. 

“You’re cute.” He blurted. 

She chuckled and looked down. “Thanks.”

He slowly leaned down, and kissed her cheek. She flinched slightly.

“Is it your whole face you can’t have touched or kissed?”

“I don’t mind you kissing my cheeks like that at all, I was just startled because I didn’t think it was where you were going to go. To answer your question, I don’t mind my forehead being touched. I just… I woke up to that man petting my face, and I-I-I-”

“I understand it and I’ll respect it, but I’d mention it to Min if I were you. He’s touchy feely and I don’t want either of you to be hurt because he made a misstep.”

Liah nodded. 

He skimmed his hand down his waist and pulled her closer before kissing her. He meant to keep it brief. 

He really did. 

Hyunwoo got caught up in her scent, her softness, and just being with her.

Liah finally came up for air, gasping. “Hyunwoo, I really need to study.”

“Yeah, I do too.” He let go of her waist, and took a step back. “Goodnight Liah.”

“Goodnight.” She grabbed her textbook and slipped into bed where a notebook already sat. 

He saw her hands shake. “I’m not- This isn’t too much for you is it? I’m not overstepping boundaries am I?”

“I’ve been in therapy for a while Hyunwoo. I’m also going to school to be a therapist. If you cross any boundaries, you will know. I’m very clear in what I can and cannot tolerate. You’ve always checked in with me before you do anything, and I appreciate it.”

“Why are you shaking then?”

“I’m trying not to violate your boundaries.” She sighed and peered at him. “I’ve never been with anyone. I like kissing you. I want more, but even I realize this is entirely too soon. So I’m just...Struggling? I’ll deal with it a little later.”

“Deal with it?” Hyunwoo repeated.

“Goodnight Hyunwoo.” Liah smiled softly, ignoring the question and waved. 

Hyunwoo walked out of her room in a daze. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lord, finally. They are getting somewhere.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday! That's all I actually got. Oh! Have you listened to Wonho's new song? I enjoy it as well as the video.

Hyunwoo woke up and immediately went to the bathroom before his roommates got in there. Brushing his teeth, decided to forgo shaving, and hopped into the shower. As he scrubbed, he thought about Liah ‘taking care of it’ and was instantly hard. Moaning, he takes himself into his hand and pumps himself a few times, imagining her touching herself. It doesn’t take long for him to reach orgasm. Leaning his head on the cool tile, he lets the water pour all over his back. He wanted to take things slow. They both needed to take things slow. He also wanted to bury himself inside her. 

Turning off the shower, he dried himself and stepped out. He was a patient man and he liked Liah. Really liked her. He owed it to both of them to get in control. Throwing on his clothes for the day he cleaned up and walked out of the bathroom. Maliah’s door was closed, but there was a note, thicker than normal on his door. He pulled it off, stuck it in his backpack. Pulling on his shoes and socks, he walked out of the suite and into the day. Heading to the nearest dorm that had a food hall, he grabbed two plates of food, sat down, and opened Maliah’s letter. Three granola bars fell out. He picked them up, shoved them in his bag, and began to read.

_ Hyunwoo, _

_ After our talk about your metabolism last night, I had a feeling you don’t snack during the day, so I’ve enclosed some granola bars. They won’t fill you up or anything, but it should get you from meal to meal. You should probably pack snacks during the day.  _

_ The idea of you and Minhyuk growing up together is heartwarming. I think if my mom had someone to lean on during those times, maybe she would have liked me more. She had me before she graduated high school. I ruined her life. I don’t say this to cause pity or make you feel bad, but it is true. She wanted to be an actress, which I know sounds like a cliche, but she was actually really good. She did community theatre around our area and I watched the videos growing up. She could have probably done it if she would have just left me behind with my dad. But she didn’t. I never knew why and was too scared to ask. She hated me so much Hyunwoo. Why didn’t she just walk away after my grandmother died? _

_ Sex. Phew, okay. So as we discovered last night, though Minhyuk’s sex was consentual, both parties didn’t leave the situation positively. Like I said last night, it isn’t his job to manage someone else’s feelings, but if you see that they want more, it’s best to part ways before even entering that territory. I’m with you in the fact that having sex with someone is important. I haven’t really cared about anyone enough to have sex with them. I’m not against it, but that spark has to be there. They also need to feel in the same ballpark as I feel, so that no one is hurting after. Which leads me to you. Us? Me? I don’t know.  _

_ I like you. There, I’ve said it. I think you’re handsome, sensitive, and smart. I like the fact that even though we are both quiet, it isn’t awkward. I really like kissing you, I mean really like it. However, I am still healing. I am still dealing with the emotional abuse from my parents as well as everything that happened last year. As you guessed, I hold a lot of guilt. I am a little worried about leaning on anyone or even being close to someone enough to allow them to hurt me. But I’m trusting you. I’m trusting all of you, but especially you. I have a lot of baggage, but I’m also a good person, and I like to think I’d be a good friend. I’d like more, but we’d both have to be mindful and take it incredibly slow.  _

_ You said something kept happening every time you tried to break up with your girlfriend? What on earth kept happening to stop that conversation? I’m sorry it took hurting your mom’s feelings for you to finally break up with her, but at least it is done, right? _

_ When you go home, will you go back to your family’s farm, or will you strike out immediately on your own farming venture? Is there a particular crop you want to farm? Have you been to Fair Oaks Farms before? I think you would like to see it. I’ve gone there solely for ice cream before. It is so good. There is a farm in Indianapolis called Traders Point Creamery that makes some of the best chocolate milk I have ever had. They sell it in stores around here too.  _

_ I really liked the poem you chose. It sounds like us. All 4 of us.We were strangers that are slowly becoming friends. And thank you for the cupcakes as well. I haven’t eaten the yellow cake one yet, but I will. What is your favorite meal and dessert? Also, when is your birthday? What about Minhyuk and Jooheon? _

_ It is 6 in the morning and Minhyuk is texting me. I have to go see what he wants. Have a good day at class. _

_ -L  _

Hynwoo stared at the letter in shock. She liked him? He didn’t really understand why he was so surprised, she didn’t seem like the type to randomly kiss...someone....wait…

He frantically thought back to the first letters and conversations. He knew she was a virgin, didn’t she say something about never being kissed before. He pulled out his phone. 

_ HS: Was I...was us, I mean me...Was that your first kiss last night? _

_ ME: Yes. Could you tell? _

_ HS: No. I just remembered from our earlier letters or a talk we had, a brief mention. If I would have remembered, I would have made it more special.  _

_ ME: Not everything has to be an event Hyunwoo. And who’s to say it wasn’t special? It was, to me.  _

_ HS: No regrets? _

_ ME: None.  _

_ HS: Good. Do you really think I’m handsome? _

_ ME: Bye Hyunwoo.  _

Chuckling, he put his phone in his pocket and finished up his breakfast. 

* * *

His classes went smoothly and he found that having something to eat regularly did help. He felt more alert and able to focus as long as he kept something in his stomach. He walked into the lab and met briefly with his teacher, who apologized for Monday. Hyunwoo waved him off. Since Casey was gone it wasn’t an issue. He took his seat next to Hyungwon. 

“Thank you again for taking me home.” Hyunwoo said, as he pulled his book out. “I was able to rest well and kind of get it together.”

“It wasn’t a problem at all. Everyone needs a little help sometimes. You could help me by putting in a good word with your roommate, she’s really cute.”

“Ahhh....” Hyunwoo blushed. 

“Interesting. You actually made a move then. How did that go?”

“She kissed me back.”

“That’s good. Are you going to take her on a date?” Hyungwon asked.

“I haven’t gotten that far. We’ve been out together a couple of times. We’re going with the other roommates to the drive-in this weekend.”

“You should take her somewhere nice at some point. Girls like that.” Class started up and Hyungwon and Hyunwoo both focused on the tasks at hand. 

He wondered if she would like to go somewhere nice? What was considered nice? Did she want a fancy meal? He wanted to text her, but he needed to focus on the lab. Hyungwon was an amazing partner. They both seemed to work in tandem, expecting what the other person needed. There was the added enjoyment of actually staying focused on the task rather than also trying to avoid purposeful hand caresses. 

“You’re a pretty good partner,” Hyungwon said, helping to wash beakers, “my last one was okay, but only put in bare minimum work.”

Hyunwoo smiled. “I have to keep my grades up, and there is the added benefit of liking my courses. Are you busy? Do you want to go get something to eat?”

“I’d like that.”

Together the two of them walked over to the student center. It was full of not only restaurants, but where a lot of the student union programs were housed. Hyungwon and Hyunwoo sat and chatted about their other classes over sandwiches. Eventually Hyungwon had another class. They exchanged phone numbers before he left. Hyunwoo was throwing away trash, when he saw something that made him stop for a second. Walking over, he entered the door for the Black student union. 

A girl was at the front desk clicking away at the computer. “Can I help you?” She asked him. 

“Can I talk to someone that deals with student court?”

She nodded, picked up a phone and made a call. “What is your name?” She asked, looking at him.

“Hyunwoo Son.” He said. 

After a bit longer on the phone, she looked up at him. “Go on back, take a left and Keisha will be right there.” 

He nodded and thanked her and followed her instructions. He was greeted by a tall woman with light brown skin and dark brown eyes. “Hyunwoo? Hi. What can I do for you?”

Now that he was here, he was at somewhat of a loss as to what to say. “I have a friend that employed your services last year. She was and is grateful for the help that she received, and I think she wants to reach out, but she’s embarrassed about how things went. I thought if maybe you reached out to her, it may help.” He paused for a minute. “She’s a good person and she’s alone, and I want to show her she doesn’t have to be.”

Keisha looked at him for a moment. “Who’s your friend?”

“Her name is Maliah Evans.”

“I figured as much. She is a good kid. What happened should have never happened. That girl should have been kicked out. I felt so bad. We did what we could. Has she had any issues that you know of?”

Hyunwoo hesitated. “Not...her.” He proceeded to tell Keisha what happened. 

“If we can get her on one more thing, we can actually press charges to the actual police. I don’t think the hand grabbing will do it, but keep in mind, if something does happen, and the police are involved, we can get her student court record opened to show that this is a pattern. She was such an ass during the proceedings. She knew she was going to get a hand slap.” Keisha shook her head. “I’ll reach out to Maliah. I promise. I’m guessing I shouldn’t mention you stopped by?”

“I would really like it if you didn’t. We just started becoming friends. She just started to let me and my roommates in. I don’t want to diminish progress between us.” Hyunwoo explained. 

“I am glad she is talking to someone. She’s a brilliant girl and very kind. She’s one of those people you hope good things happen to.”

Hyunwoo nodded in agreement. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

“You’re welcome here anytime. Bring Maliah by sometime if you can.” Keisha smiled. 

He nodded and walked back out, heading back to the dorm. 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there. This is a short chapter. I thought I would go ahead and put it out. I am facing a bit of writers block at the moment. This shouldn't affect the story at the moment, as we are on chapter 16 and I have 60 chapters already written. I also wanted to let you know that I am thinking more and more that this is going to be a two "book" series. I'll get more in depth about that when we get further along in the story. I hope you are having a good week! Also today is Wonho's birthday! It doesn't matter if you are a Monbebe or a Wenee, leave me your favorite memory of Wonho?
> 
> Mine is when he sings the acoustic version of Beautiful and you can clearly see his lisp. I love a good lisp. 
> 
> TW: Brief mention of attempted assault.

Arriving at the dorm, Hyunwoo was treated to an amusing sight. Minhyuk and Liah were on the floor with her foot in Min’s lap. Min was hunched over her foot with a tiny brush in his long fingers carefully painting aqua polish on her toes.

Liah looked up when she saw the door close and saw Hyunwoo trying hard not to laugh. “He said he wanted to bond, and this is how he wanted to bond.” 

“This is kind of hard.” Min said as he dabbed a bit of polish onto the bottle. “I don’t feel like I have a stable grip on the brush.”

“Your hands are probably sweaty. Put the brush back in the paint and wash and dry your hands.” Liah said. 

Minhyuk stood up to go wash his hands and Hyunwoo came over. He brushed a kiss on her forehead. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Dinner tonight?”

“I can’t, I have to work.”

“Will you sleep with me tonight?”

Liah looked at him a long moment before he realized what the problem was. “Not sex, actual sleep.”

She relaxed slightly. “I’ll have some studying to do when I get back, so I will be in there late.”

“That’s fine, just come in, I’ll probably wait up for you since I don’t have hardly anything to do tomorrow.” He touched her shoulder and gave her a kiss. “Have fun with Min.” 

“She will!” Minhyuk came strolling out of the bathroom. “Go away, we’re bonding.” 

“Have fun you two.” With that, Hyunwoo went into his dorm room and shut the door. 

Turning on music, he slid his books out and placed them to the side. Pulling out fresh stationary he began to write. 

_ Liah, _

_ Do you have any happy memories of your family or childhood? Any at all? How do you feel around children when your life was so difficult growing up? Maybe you should ask your mom Liah. Ask her why she didn’t run away. You speak mostly of your mom, what about your dad? You don’t go home or visit, so I am assuming your relationship isn’t great with him as well.  _

_ I never really thought of Min actually hurting someone with the way he operated. I liked the advice you gave him. Make them feel cherished. I think that is what anyone would truly want. I like you too Maliah. I like when I get to hold you in bed. I like talking to you or reading your notes. You’re working your way through darkness, and trying to use what you’ve learned to help other people. That’s admirable. As fast or as slow as we go is between us and as Minhyuk has probably told you, I’m kind of turtle-like in my speed. I tend to overthink everything. Which leads me to your question about my ex. It’s not really something I’m comfortable putting down on paper. If you ask me outright I’ll tell you.  _

_ I have a sweet tooth. Especially for chocolate. I love chocolate, and the thought of chocolate milk is heavenly. I’ll look for it the next time I go out. My favorite American dish is hamburgers (You could probably tell). My favorite Korean dish is something called jajangmyeon. It’s a noodle dish. My birthday is also June 18th. I’m going to leave you to ask Min and Jooheon their favorite foods, but I will tell you that Jooheon’s birthday just passed (October 6th) and Min’s is coming up (November 3rd).  _

_ I had a question I have been thinking about for the past few days that doesn’t really add up for me. Last year was your first year of college. This is your second year, but you are graduating in the spring? How did you get so many credits so fast? _

There was a knock at his door. “Come in!” he called out as he put the paper in his desk. Maliah walked in. She had on a simple black dress with a white collar. Jeweled hearts were clipped to each collar and attached by a chain. Black tights and black high heeled mary janes completed her outfit. 

“You look pretty.” He said.

“Uh, thanks. I’m getting ready to go. I’ll talk to you this evening?” She asked.

“Yes. I’ll be here.” He stood up and gently brushed his mouth against hers. She kissed him back, sliding her hand up to his chest. Grabbing her wrist he pulled her to the bed. He skimmed his hands down her sides to the edge of her dress, slowly sliding his hands underneath. 

A soft whimper came from her.

“Good or bad?” he asked softly. 

“Good, really good.” She continued kissing him as his hands slid under her dress. He ran his thumbs over the cups of her bra. Though he couldn’t see, he could feel the fabric and it was thin, as he could feel her nipples through the bra. Lost in the feel of her, he forgot where he was. 

“Do you want to go get din-Oh! Sorry!” Minhyuk walked in and walked right back out, shutting the door behind him. 

It was enough to break them apart. “I’m sorry.” Hyunwoo began to smooth her dress down. She grabbed his wrist. “Don’t be. T-t-t-that was n-n-n-n-nice.” 

“Are you sure you are okay? You are stuttering.”

“I-i-i-it comes out in ext-t-t-treme emotional reactions,” she took a breath. “I’m not angry, and I’m n-n-n-not scared.”

“Then what are you Liah?” He scooted closer to her. 

Gently she touched his face and kissed him one last time before getting up. “Goodnight Hyunwoo, I’ll see you this evening.” She walked quickly out of his door and out of the dorm suite.

Hyunwoo covered his head with his pillow and just laid there. 

“Are you okay? Should I leave?” Minhyuk entered the room cautiously. 

“I’m fine. Sorry Min.”

“It’s fine. You’ve seen me in worse positions.” It was true. Minhyuk sometimes wasn’t mindful of where he was starting things. “Do you want to go to dinner?”

“Will you come to the gym after?”

Min wrinkled his nose. 

“You can just peddle on the bike. I haven’t really spent much time with you, or Jooheon.”

“You’ve been a little preoccupied. And that is okay, we don’t begrudge you. But yes I’ll go to the gym with you after we eat.” He got up to go get his things.

“Minhyuk, how are things between you and Jooheon?”

“They’re fine.” He gave a small smile as he walked out of the door. 

Truthfully nothing had happened since that day. Minhyuk took the words that Maliah said seriously. He didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Jooheon, and honestly, he needed to figure out what he wanted from him before he could make that step. He told Jooheon his thoughts earlier. He was a little afraid of the reaction, but Jooheon just kissed him on his forehead. “When you decide what you want,” he scratched Minhyuk’s head as he talked, “I’ll be right here.” It was then dropped and they went about their normal day.

He knocked on Jooheon’s door and when he was told it was okay, he walked in. “We’re going to eat, and going to the gym. Are you coming?”

“You are going to the gym?” Jooheon pulled off the sweater he had on and started rummaging around for a t-shirt. Minhyuk’s eyes went straight for his broad shoulders. “You never come.”

“Hyunwoo feels guilty for being distracted and asked to spend time.”

“It’s his first crush. It’s okay to be distracted” Jooheon said.

Minhyuk looked at him. “He’s had a girlfriend before, this isn’t his first crush.”

“From what both you and him told me, it seems as if the girl liked him and he went along with it. He started feeling guilty because he realized he had no real attraction to her. He’s attracted to Maliah, he wants to be with her.” He looked at Minhyuk. “He’s letting her set the pace as best as he can.”

He unzipped his pants to change into his workout shorts. 

“I’m gonna just… go get ready.” Minhyuk went to bolt out of the room. 

“Min you’ve seen me undressed a thousand times.” He stopped tugging at his pants. 

“That was...before.” Minhyuk began to fidget. 

“Min, close the door.”

Silently Minhyuk closed the door and turned around to Jooheon. 

“We are still the same people we were before we kissed. You are still my friend. I still care for you. There is just another layer added to it, okay? If we decide we don’t want that layer, we’ll toss it, but the foundation is still the same.”

Minhyuk nodded. 

“It’s okay to feel a little awkward, but don’t live inside your head Min. Stop worrying about what will happen, and figure out what you want.”

“I want to have sex with you.” Min blurted. 

Jooheon chuckled. “And I don’t have no strings sex. So try again.” Sliding his pants off, he rummaged in his closet for his basketball shorts. Minhyuk walked out trying not to focus on the contrast of his navy blue boxer briefs on his tanned legs. He saw Hyunwoo leaving an envelope with a daisy attached to Maliah’s door. He sighed and went to his room to change. 

Throughout much of the meal, the boys tried to prod details of Hyunwoo’s relationship. “There’s not much to talk about. We enjoy being around each other. We talk.”

“That was more than talking I walked into earlier.” Minhyuk noted getting up to throw his trash away.

“Yeah, we got a little carried away.” Hyunwoo blushed. 

“Minhyuk!” As Minhyuk was walking back to the table, he looked up and saw Ashley. In tow was Casey. Minhyuk glanced at Hyunwoo. His friend was never quick to anger but if looks could kill, both of those girls would be dead. 

“Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while! What are you up to?” Ashley smiled at him and fluttered her lashes. 

“Hi. I’m hanging out with my friends.” Minhyuk edged closer to Jooheon, hoping for a save. Jooheon merely smirked and walked off to throw away his trash. 

“Do you maybe want to get together later?” She looked at him hopefully. 

“Uh..”

“Hyunwoo....can we talk?” Casey walked up to him speaking softly. 

“No. I have absolutely nothing to say to you.” He got up to throw his trash away. 

“Hyunwoo wait!” She grabbed his hand and he jerked away as if she had burned him. 

“DO NOT TOUCH ME EVER!” He roared. Conversation in the cafeteria stopped. “Who the hell do you think you are?!”

“There’s no need to get loud.” She snorted. 

“No need? NO NEED?” His voice got louder and louder. “IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID WHEN YOU PUT HAIR REMOVER IN HER SHAMPOO CASEY? OR HOW ABOUT BULLYING HER OR SETTING HER UP TO BE RAPED? WAS THERE NO NEED FOR HER TO GET LOUD!?”

Minhyuk shook off Ashley. “Hyunwoo. Let it go. Let’s leave.” He grabbed his arm and pulled, but it was like moving a boulder. 

“How in the world do you know...anything about that? Let me guess, that bitch has been telling stories. It wasn’t that big of a deal. If you just come with me, we can talk about it. She was such a fucking stick in the mud, I was trying to liven her up.” Casey looked bored at the whole idea.

By this point Hyunwoo was vibrating with rage. “If you come near me. If you come near Minhyuk, Jooheon, or Liah, I will personally see to it that you are arrested and kicked out of school. She didn’t know better, but I do.”

Casey stood there and stared at him. “You could try.” She smirked. “I’m a little harder to get rid of than that cutie.”

Hyunwoo had never called a woman out of her name, but he was beyond through. “You are an absolute bitch, and I can’t believe I ever thought you were nice. Stay away from me. Stay away from all of us.”

Jooheon, grabbed Hyunwoo’s other arm. “She wouldn’t want her business spread like this. Let it go. Come on.”

“I will see you later Hyunwoo.” He looked in Casey’s eyes and he saw nothing there but malice. Turning his head he walked off. 

It was silent as they walked to the gym. Finally Jooheon spoke up. “I’ve missed a few steps here. I am going to be honest.”

“I’ve heard some of it and I am still missing steps.” Minhyuk said.

Hyunwoo stopped and sighed. “I will talk with her and ask if I can share what she told me to you guys, but you heard most of it. She hurt Maliah. Physically and emotionally.”

It was silent and then Jooheon spoke up again. “Did…”

“No. She fought him off and screamed.” He sighed and looked at them. “I am not really feeling the gym tonight. Can we just go get ice cream?”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Minhyuk grabbed both their arms and headed in the direction of the store. 

At the little convenience store, Hyunwoo picked up a pint of chocolate for himself and strawberry for Maliah. Walking down the aisles he stopped as something caught his eye. 

“What are you looking at?” Hyunwoo jumped and turned and saw Jooheon staring at him.

“I...uhh…” Hyunwoo started to look everywhere but what he was looking at. Unfortunately Jooheon beelined on them. 

“If you think you are going to need them, buy them.”

“Isn’t it presumptuous of me?”

"From what I saw this evening Hyunwoo, it isn't presumptuous at all." Minhyuk came walking down the aisle.

"I'm not ready for that step." Hyunwoo admitted quietly.

"That's fine, but it's okay to be prepared." Jooheon said. He slid a box of condoms off the rack and handed them to him. Hyunwoo silently took them and walked to the front, grabbing 4 boxes of granola bars on his way. 

Minhyuk eyeballed the display. 

“We are nowhere near there, and if we ever are, I’ve got it.” Jooheon said, wrapping his arm around his friend’s shoulder and pulling him to the front. 

As they arrived, Hyunwoo was finished paying and waiting on them. Setting out back to the dorm, Minhyuk spoke up.

“You’re going to need to tell her what happened Hyunwoo.”

He sighed. “I know. I didn’t mean to do it. I just- She doesn’t care. She doesn’t care that she damaged someone’s life.”

“You sensed something was wrong with her while she was in her class. Now you know your gut wasn’t wrong.” Jooheon pointed out. 

Hyunwoo nodded and they continued walking back to the dorm. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so fun fact about your girl. For the longest time the only fan fiction I ever read was Twilight. I once ventured out and read a Supernatural fan fic, and ended up crying for days (Twist and Shout if you are interested). This and my other story (which I haven't updated in a couple of weeks) are my first forray into writing. That being said, in the Twilight fandom intimacy was called lemons. Is that the same in every fandom? Anyway, Enough lemon to cook a ceviche is in this chapter.

Back at the dorm, the guys ended up playing video games while eating their ice cream and chatting for a while. Eventually Hyunwoo stopped playing, and grabbed letter writing paper from his room and began to write while watching everyone play. 

_ Liah, _

_ By the time you get this note, I’ll have already told you about the incident with Casey. I’m going to apologize again. I was so angry Maliah. She didn’t care. She didn’t care who she harmed. She treated everything she did like a joke. Like it didn’t matter, like I shouldn’t care. She still thought I would see things her way, that this was just a bump in the road.  _

_ Blatant disregard of people and their feelings is not something I’d ever tolerate, which is why I am feeling insanely guilty for my outburst in the cafeteria. I know you wouldn’t want that, and once again, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? _

Hyunwoo heard keys jingling in the door. Maliah walked through the door and walked up to the couch where everyone sat. It was a marked difference to a few weeks ago where she would come in and immediately go to her room. 

“Hi.” She said quietly to everyone, squeezing Hyunwoo lightly on his shoulder. 

“Was work okay?” Jooheon asked. 

“Yeah. A bunch of snooty people came in for a private tour. I’m not great with remembering the details of art, but we’ve had the exhibit for m-m-m-months, so I know it like the back of my hand. There isn’t a question you can throw at me about it that I c-c-c-can’t answer. But they tried. And failed.” Her stuttering was getting less and less around her roommates. 

“What kind of things do you get asked?” Minhyuk turned his attention away from the tv screen.

“Mostly about t-t-t-t-the art, what it is supposed to represent, where it was painted, how it was painted.” Hyunwoo grabbed for the hand still resting on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I have a badge that indicates that I am a student trainee, so you get people trying to stump me or make me nervous. Problem is, with art or music, I am in my element. If I like something enough, I’ll research to the ends of the earth. I went down a 3 month rabbit hole with the musical Hamilton. Did you know that no one really liked Charles Lee because he expected to be paid. And he smelled?”

Everyone looked at her blankly. 

She smiled awkwardly. “Okay. I’m going to go.” She made her way to her room before Hyunwoo stood up.”

“Wait. There’s ice cream for you in the freezer. Also, can I talk to you for a second? Privately?”

“Sure.” She walked into her room, grabbing the note left on the outside, and waited for him. He grabbed the ice cream and walked into her room. She was pulling out pajamas to sleep in. She looked up and smiled when she saw him but it dropped almost instantly. “What’s wrong?”

He handed her the ice cream and the spoon. “We went out to dinner today before going to the gym. Minhyuk ran into Ashley, who’s friends with Casey. Who happened to be with her.”

“Are you okay?” Liah asked. 

“No. I’m still pissed. I kind of got loud and in her face. About everything, about you. I’m sorry.”

“Loud? What do you mean?”

“She didn’t care how she’d hurt you. She didn’t understand why I was so upset. She saw everything as a joke.”

Maliah looks at him baffled. “I-I don’t understand. Why are you so upset? It didn’t happen to you. It happened when you didn’t even know me.”

Hyunwoo immediately saw the problem. “You’re my friend. I care about you. One of those things that comes with being friends.”

“Shut the door.” Was all she said. He did as she asked and came back over to her. 

“No one has ever defended me unless it was their job. It feels...nice.” She walked up to him, and tugged his shirt. He bent down to her level and she kissed him. She slid his hands up his neck and drew him in deeper. 

Hyunwoo moaned and continued where they left off earlier that day, sliding his hands under her dress. After a brief hesitation, he slipped his hands into her tights. He began to stroke her outside of her underwear before slowly slipping his hand inside. 

Liah let out a soft moan, and gently bit his lower lip. “More, please,” she whispered, trailing her hand down his chest. 

He parted her folds and gently swiped his finger down her clit. He immediately noticed something. She was reacting, but she did not seem aroused to his level. She wasn’t wet. At all. He wasn’t super experienced, but he knew a little bit, and used that to his advantage. Nothing. After about 10 minutes, he tried to slide his finger inside her and she pulled back. “Stop.”

He immediately pulled his hand out. “Was it not okay?” He asked self consciously. 

“I liked everything you did, but there are a few things I should probably tell you. It’s nothing bad, and it’s going to take me a little bit to work up the nerve. So I am going to ask you to let me study for an hour and then I’ll come over and sleep with you, or you can come back here and sleep with me.” Liah’s mouth was swollen from the kissing and her eyes were still looking like she wanted to devour him. 

“I’d like to sleep over here tonight.”

“Okay, give me an hour of study time. You’re actually welcome to stay while I work.” She pointed at the bed.

“That would be nice. Let me get my books.” He opened the door to see Jooheon and Minhyuk still playing. “I’m going to go study with Liah for a while. 

“Anatomy?” Jooheon started laughing at his own joke. 

Maliah stuck her head out of her door. “Perhaps physiology,” she said softly.

“DID SHE JUST MAKE A JOKE!?” Minhyuk shrieked. He threw his controller and launched himself at her. 

“Oh god.” Her eyes widened as he came in for a hug. Hyunwoo was ready to pull him off if needed. 

“Trust your friend Hyunwoo.” Jooheon murmured. 

Minhyuk gave her a gentle squeeze and bounced back over to his game. Hyunwoo continued his walk to his room to pick up his books. Coming back out of his room, he bid his friends good night, walked into Maliah’s room, and shut the door. 

“Go ahead and lay on the bed, I’ll stay at my desk.” She was already working on her laptop clicking away, while eating the ice cream he bought her. 

He climbed into the bed, smiling again at the twinkly star lights she had strung above the head and the sides of the bed. He laid there and tried to study. Giving up almost immediately he went to his book. He was so enthralled in the story that he almost missed when Liah shut her book. Almost. 

Looking up he saw her stretching her neck and rolling her shoulders. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m good. I’m going to go to the bathroom, and we’ll talk.” Grabbing a small bundle of clothes, and a basket of toiletries, she left the room. 

Hyunwoo took a look around her room again. There were no personal pictures, only art. Over by her desk was a collage of black pinup models. They were all beautiful and curvy, in seductive poses. 

“Are you looking at my ladies?” Liah walked in and shut the door, putting everything back where it belonged. 

“They are beautiful.” He said. “I like this one the best.” It was a picture of a dark skin pinup, dressed in a yellow bikini. She had on black gloves and jeweled bracelets with her hands by her head as if she were flipping her hair. She was laid out on a small cushion with yellow heels on. 

Hyunwoo looked up and saw Maliah wearing a long sleeved t-shirt with no pants. He blinked. 

“Mmm, she’s pretty.” Liah agreed. “Hyunwoo, what would happen between you and your ex to stop the conversation?”

He blushed slightly. “I would always bring it up when we were in a private place, I didn’t want to break up with her in public, it seemed rude. But I’d bring it up, and she’d begin kissing me, touching me and eventually, she’d have her mouth on me. I really couldn’t function much after that happened. At the end I would drop it because it just felt bad that this girl just gave me a blow job and I was trying to break up with her. It was just a cycle.” He shrugged. 

“You realize she was manipulating you right? She didn’t want to break up so she found a way out of it. You were a bit to blame as well because you couldn’t stop thinking with your dick.”

He startled at her saying dick so matter of factly. 

“I know now. But in my defense, she was the first person I’d ever been with and the feeling was...I liked it a lot. But I learned my lesson and I’m generally cautious about how I deal with people.”

“That’s good.”

“So what was it that needed explaining about earlier?”

“Yeah, that.” Liah sighed and went to a drawer. She pulled out two bottles. One was a pill bottle and the other looked like a lotion bottle of some sort. Sitting on the bed with both, she looked at Hyunwoo. “What do you know about antidepressants?”

“You take them when you are chronically sad.”

“Something like that.” She tossed the bottle to him. “I am on a high dosage. With that comes...side effects. Mainly the pills affect my sex drive. I don’t have a super high sex drive most of the time. I hardly get wet, or sometimes don't get wet at all. I still get aroused, I just need help so that it doesn’t hurt.” She handed him the bottle. It was a bottle of lube. “I still orgasm, it’s just not as intense as it used to be when I wasn’t on the pills.”

“So it wasn’t me?” Hyunwoo asked self consciously.

“No. I like kissing you, I like it when you to-mmph!” Hyunwoo didn’t let her finish before his mouth was on hers again. Gripping her thigh, he laid on top of her as they kissed. He slid his hands up her body to her breasts. 

“C-can I take your shirt off?” He asked. 

“If you take yours off too.” She replied. 

He whipped his shirt off quickly and helped her with hers. Her breasts were larger than he initially thought. A lot of her clothes were baggy and she wore his sweatshirt all the time, so he’d honestly had no clue. He skimmed his hands over her chest, brushing his thumbs over her nipples. He felt her gasp softly. 

She slowly touched his chest and stomach, and the trail of hair that led to his pants. Sitting up, she leaned in and gently flicked her tongue over his nipple. He moaned loudly. She began to flick her tongue rapidly over his nipple while alternating sucking. 

He slid her panties down her legs and began to touch her. She was wetter than before, but still not very. Looking around he grabbed the bottle of lube and smeared a small amount on his fingers before he began touching her again. As he began stroking her clit, she trailed her tongue to his neck. Stroking her hand down, she slipped her hand into his shorts, and began to stroke him outside of his boxers. 

“Can I…” she started tugging at his pants. 

“Yes, god yes.” She yanked at his pants and boxers. He began to kiss her as she yanked. Slowly she got them down and wrapped her hand around his dick. 

“I am going to be a h-h-h-hundred percent honest r-r-r-r-right now and tell you I don’t know what the hell I am doing.” She admitted. 

Hyunwoo stopped touching her and looked in her face. She was perfectly calm and didn’t really seem into what he was doing to her. 

“Wait a minute.” He brushed his hair off his forehead. “Are you getting any pleasure out of this?” He asked. 

“I’m enjoying watching you.” She said honestly. 

“That isn’t what I asked you though.”

“Hyunwoo,” she sighed, “I’ve never been with anyone, but I know my body. What you’re doing feels nice, but I struggle to get myself off at times. I had a feeling it would be the same with a partner.” She looked at him and saw how he looked hurt. “Okay, I want you to imagine a roller coaster. You see it?”

He nodded. 

“I think of foreplay as that first climb on a rollercoaster, where you are slowly inching your way to the top,” her hands were not touching him, but demonstrating the climb. “You get to the very top, and your orgasm is when you h-h-h-hit that drop on the coaster. I consider myself lucky if I get the drop. What tends to happen to me, is I get to the t-t-t-t-t-top, and before I can hit the drop, the coaster starts sliding back to the beginning point, and I have to start all over again. This can happen a couple times, and I may get to the d-d-d-d-d-drop, or I may get sore and have to give up for the time being.”

“So you come close to orgasm and it just stops and you are back at the start?”

“Yes”

“But sometimes you can orgasm?”

“Yes.”

He sat back on the bed, with his back facing the footboard. “Can you show me?”

She looked confused. “Show you what?”

“Show me what makes you orgasm, show me how to help you achieve that.” he requested.

She got quiet. “I’ve never…”

“We are both naked on your bed Liah. No one is judging.”

“I’ll touch myself if you do the same.”

“Okay.”

Patting the bed, Liah searched for the lube and set it by her leg. She began to slide her hand down her chest, touching, then pinching her nipples. Avoiding eye contact with Hyunwoo, she picked up the tube of lube and squired a small amount into her hand.

Hyunwoo began to stroke himself slowly, twisting his wrist as he moved his hand up and down. 

She returned to touching her nipples with one hand, and using three fingers on the other hand to rub her clit. Slowly she began to inch two of the fingers inside herself. 

Hyunwoo was about to lose it. He noticed her hand wasn’t moving, her wrist was. 

“What are you doing?” He asked her, trying to focus on not spilling too soon. 

“Hitting my g-spot.” She moaned out softly

She looked up and saw his confusion. “Come here.” He crawled over to her. “Let me see your hand.” 

Confused, he held his hand out. “Your fingers are longer and thicker than mine. Use one finger, touch me inside, but don’t thrust in and out.”

She had used plenty of lube and he slid in easily. 

“Rotate your wrist and do the ‘come here’ motion with your finger.” She demonstrated the motion with her own finger. 

He did as she asked and felt a patch of flesh that was spongier than the rest. 

“I-I-I-I-If you keep stroking it like th-th-th-that I’m going to probably come.” Her voice wavered as he applied more pressure to the stroke. Tentatively he added another finger and was delighted to hear her moan. He began swiping his thumb down her clit. He dropped his mouth to her chest and began to flick his tongue around one nipple and then the other. 

She cried out softly. He captured her mouth with his own, and flicked his tongue into her mouth, tasting her. He tasted the toothpaste she must have used while in the bathroom. 

She began to rock against his hand, keening softly. All of a sudden she went rigid. Her orgasm was faint, he barely felt her walls flutter, but the look on her face said she’d gotten it. He pulled his hand out of her and gave her thigh a squeeze. 

It was silent for a moment before she spoke up. “Show me how to do the same for you.”

He wrapped her hand around him again and began an easy up and down motion, he then showed her how to rotate her wrist. He smiled as he looked at her, she was so intently focused on what she was doing. He kissed the tip of her nose. When she looked up at him, it gave him a chance to kiss her again. He laid to the side of the bed and began to touch her again. All of a sudden he felt it building. “Can you move your hand faster sweetheart?” 

Liah increased her speed. 

“Shirt, grab shirt.” Hyunwoo’s speech was garbled, but Liah understood and tossed him his shirt. He caught it and covered himself in time as he orgasmed. It was a hard one that made him see stars and he jerked in the bed as he came down. Maliah laid on her side and watched him. 

Cleaning himself up with his shirt, he tossed it on the floor and looked at her. “If I hadn’t been here, how long would it have taken you to orgasm?” He asked.

“Anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half,” she replied. “I can cut that to 30 minutes if I use my vibrator.”

He perked up “You have a vibrator?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you use it every time?”

“Because it has the unmistakable sound of a vibrator and I live with three men.” She pointed out to him. 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.”

“Can I see it?”

“Later, I am getting sleepy.”

“Liah...Have you thought about, maybe lowering your dosage of antidepressant?”

“Not particularly. It’s the same dosage I’ve been on since I got out of the hospital. I am still a mess when I talk about the things that happened. I don’t think it’s time yet. I can’t justify lowering it for more sexual satisfaction.”

“Do you have other side effects?”

“Mmm, I become ‘wooden’,” she used finger quotes, “sometimes things that should have an effect do not affect me at all. You screaming at Casey should have provoked some sort of reaction. The only thing I thought was that it was nice that someone stood up for me. I lose my appetite from time to time. That’s really it.”

“I'm about to ask a really personal question.” He said. 

“You’ve seen me naked,” she said drowsily, pulling the blanket over her. “What is it?”

“Are you on any birth control?”

“No, I haven’t had a need. I also take quite a few pills in my daily life. I am not trying to add to it.” she cuddled into him. “I’m going to go to sleep now. Goodnight Hyunwoo.”

“Goodnight sweetheart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. I- Well yeah. 
> 
> Still dealing with a little writers block. I also found out that I am being pulled back into my office to work I have not received my covid vax, but my job is being a big angry asshole. Google docs is blocked on my work computer, so I won't have the time I normally have while I am at home to write. I am 60 chapters in though, so it shouldn't affect anyone reading this for a while. 
> 
> Once again, this is unbeta-ed so any mistakes are 100% my own. Are you looking forward to something this weekend? Cheer me up. 
> 
> My thing is I found a little Asian market by my job, I was able to find thin sliced brisket and have been making pots of doenjang jjigae all week.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank you all for your notes thus far. Though I am a loud mouth on the internet, I am actually quite shy and reserved in real life, especially about the things I create. Your encouragement goes a long way. This is not to say I am not one for constructive criticism as well. It just has to be constructive and not "u smell like ass' or some such nonsense. Anyway, here we go. Day after.

Hyunwoo awoke to Liah gone. Feeling where she was on the bed it had long grown cold. Sitting up he stretched and saw a folded note on her desk with his name on it. Picking it up, it was two sheets of paper. Opening it he gasped. It was a drawing of him again, from the waist up. He didn’t have a shirt on and was looking intently at something. He realized it was probably him hovering over her last night. How did she draw this so quickly this morning? Looking at his phone, he realized it was noon, and he was ravenous. 

He slipped on his shorts, grabbed his shirt, and left her room, quietly closing the door. He saw both Jooheon and Minhyuk doors were open, so they were gone for the day. He hurried in his room and gathered his things to get a shower.

After his shower, he headed out with gym clothes on, hoping to catch a workout after eating. As he was walking, he felt strange, as if someone was watching him. Looking around he didn’t see anything unusual and kept looking back. Eventually he shrugged it off and headed in for food. As he sat and ate, he opened Liah’s note. 

_ H, _

_ I have roughly two good memories of my family. The first one was when I was small, about 6 or 7, and I got to play in the sprinklers with the neighborhood children. I was probably allowed to go because there were so many kids and the neighborhood always wondered about me and why I never participated in anything. After I got done running through the sprinklers, one of the moms lumped me in with her kids and bought us all ice cream from the ice cream truck. There’s a picture of me standing in line super excited with everyone else, with my parents watching, looking somewhat happy. I stole it, and have it with me. It’s not like they are going to be looking for it.  _

_ The second memory was in high school. My parents came to my senior choir concert. I typically shy away from solos and like to stay in the back, but my choir teacher heard me singing by myself one day and forced me to try out. So I did, and I got it. The catch was I got paired with boys (it seems like I’m always getting paired with boys). Have you heard of a song called “In the Still of the NIght?” Boyz II Men remade it, but it is a much older song. Listen to their version.  _

_ My parents barely knew where I went to school, much less that I could sing, so it surprised them. I think it floored my mother a lot. I was doing what she wanted to be doing (to an extent) in high school. I found out later on that several faculty members came up to them and told them how I was a bright student and they couldn’t wait to see what I did with my life. Any praise on me, felt like praise on them (they raised me after all, so why shouldn’t they take the praise /sarcasm), so they were super proud of me. They took me out to eat and everything. They even refrained from arguing for a while. It was nice. I don’t talk about my dad because, well, there isn’t much to say. He was less about the verbal abuse, but he didn’t stop it. He simply wasn’t present there for me. My most vivid memories are of my mother screaming at me and my dad just watching tv ignoring it. Above it all. I didn’t matter. The screaming didn’t matter.  _

Hyunwoo never wanted to fight a pair of adults more in his life than reading this note about her parents. She still hurt. He felt it in the letter. She wrote about it in a clinical manner, but all of this hurt her. He continued reading.

_ A turtle-like speed is fine with me Hyunwoo. We didn’t really go turtle speed last night though. Are you okay? Are you overthinking? I enjoyed being with you last night, so if that was a worry, please don’t let it be. And thank you for being honest about your girlfriend. I know it is hard to talk about things in your past (I think you know that I know that), but sometimes I need to hear them. I am going to be honest with you right now, last night was kind of hard for me as well. It takes a lot to get me to orgasm and you respected that and I appreciate it. However, I am probably not going to be ready for sex anytime soon. It sort of feels like we should have a rhythm together before we even get to that piece of the puzzle. If we get there. It seems kind of odd. A month ago I didn’t have friends. Now I have two, and you. I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to classify you as. A friend with benefits?  _

_ I wondered if you would ask about my schooling situation. Before I got scholarships, I knew that college was going to be a hard road for me financially. Even if I got the grants given to poor people, Purdue is an expensive school. I’d been planning for college since I was in 7th grade. From freshman year to senior year of high school 90% of my course load was college credit classes. I could take them discounted through the local community college. As a result, I technically have a degree already. I have an associates degree of general studies. I dual graduated from high school and college at the same time. _

Hyunwoo gawked at the page. This woman was incredible.

_ The community college has a deal that high school students who complete that program start out as juniors when they hit certain college campuses in Indiana. Purdue is one of them. So last year I was a junior. This year I am a senior, and I’ll graduate at the same time as you three. _

_ Do you realize how deep of a sleeper you are? The light is on in my room and I am writing away and you are dead to the world, naked, under my comforter. I am going to be honest, and say I’d like to climb back in and maybe snuggle you for a bit, which is not something I’ve ever actually wanted to do before. But I’ve already missed class this week. While I do have documentation on file that allows me to miss classes and not be penalized, I don’t like to take advantage of that fact. Plus I have a couple of music lessons today. Have a good day and make sure you eat something in between your meals. I’ll talk with you soon.  _

_ -L  _

Once he was done and walking to the gym the weird feeling went away completely. He was relieved and headed inside. To his surprise both Minhyuk and Jooheon were there. Minhyuk was sitting beside Jooheon on a stationary bike, with the hood of his sweatshirt up and sunglasses on. Jooheon was lifting weights while talking to him. Stowing his bag in the lockers he walked up to them both. 

“Is it too soon to ask her to be my girlfriend?” He blurted out, in lieu of a hello. 

Jooheon and Minhyuk looked at each other and then looked back at him. “Hyunwoo, did you have sex last night?” Jooheon asked. 

“No. I’m not ready for that, I told you.” But he blushed. 

“Okay. Is there a particular reason why you want to ask her right this second?” Jooheon turned and continued to lift weights while looking at Hyunwoo through the mirror.

“You know how we send notes back and forth?” 

Both Minhyuk and Jooheon nodded. 

“She mentioned in one how a month ago she didn’t have any friends, and now she had two and me. She didn’t know what to classify me as and said something about friends with benefits. I don’t want just the benefits. I want all of her. She’s the whole benefit.” Hyunwoo was nearly shouting as Minhyuk struggled not to laugh at him. 

“If you are asking if I think you would scare her off if you asked, I’m going to say no. She may pick it apart, but it wouldn’t freak her out, I don’t think.” Minhyuk said. 

Jooheon wasn’t paying them any attention. He was squinting in the mirror. “What’s wrong?” Hyunwoo asked as he began to stretch thoroughly.

“I thought I saw…” He kept staring. “I think I am just seeing things. Never mind. But yes, what Minhyuk said. Just ask. It can’t hurt.” 

“When I was with my ex, we just kind of agreed that we were dating. Should I take her out on a date before asking?”

“You’re asking us? Minhyuk doesn’t date, and I haven’t had a serious date in years.” Jooheon said.

“Years?” Hyunwoo asked. “Any reason why?”

Minhyuk lightly peddled the machine as he listened. 

“Dating someone is a form of intimacy to me. It’s letting someone in on a whole other level. Showing them emotional scars and stuff. If I am in that deep, they need to be too, and I haven’t found anyone that shows me they are ready to get that deep.” Jooheon explained. 

Hyunwoo slid his eyes to Minhyuk who seemed to be very deep in thought. 

“So, yeah,” Jooheon said as he dropped the weight, “I don’t know if we’re the ones you should be asking. I will say though, that asking her on a date couldn’t hurt. Who doesn’t like to go on a date?”

Hyunwoo nodded and finished stretching, wandering off to another machine. Jooheon put up the weights and was cleaning his area when he felt a soft touch on his arm. He looked up and saw Minhyuk looking uncomfortable. 

“When we were younger I had a small crush on Hyunwoo. I’d imagine kissing him all the time and wondered if he felt the same way. He was completely oblivious to guys and girls though. It faded away though fairly quickly because even though he’s my best friend, he’s by far the weirdest man I’ve ever met.” Minhyuk chuckled quietly. “It was around that time I realized that most people don’t want to kiss both boys and girls, and that I was a little different.” Minhyuk began to shuffle off when Jooheon grabbed him by the arm.

“Do you lean towards one or the other?” Jooheon asked. 

Minhyuk shook his head. “I don’t lean towards any gender really. Someone could be gender fluid and I will find them attractive. It’s about who they are as a person, not really their gender.” 

Jooheon was silent for a moment, and then tugged the hood off of Minhyuk’s head. His dark hair was wild and all over the place. Leaning in, he kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for sharing Min.” and walked off to the treadmill.

Minhyuk beamed and proceeded to roll on a yoga ball until the other two were done. 

* * *

Hyunwoo wanted to show them the place Maliah had taken him for breakfast so Jooheon drove them across the bridge to Lafayette. As they walked in, they saw the manager behind the counter. He looked at Hyunwoo and smiled “Hi there! I remember you. You were with my friend that gets a BLT all the time.”

“Yes. I brought some more friends with me today.” Jooheon and Minhyuk waved. 

Just then a bag was brought to the counter by a waitress. “Speaking of her, this is her lunch order. A little late today. She’s normally here and gone before 12:30.” The man said.

Hyunwoo looked at his watch and saw it was 3pm. “Can I pay for that, and add a dessert too?”

The gentleman smiled and nodded. Hyunwoo glanced over at his friends. “Go find a table, I’ll be there in a second.” He then turned to talk to the gentleman, pulling his wallet out. 

Minhyuk and Jooheon sat down and grabbed a menu. “He was never thoughtful with his ex.” Minhyuk whispered. 

“Hmm?” Jooheon said, already distracted by food. 

“Like he’d pay when they went out for dates and stuff, but he’d never do anything for her, just because.”

“I told you, she liked him, and he went along with it. He likes Maliah, a lot. You can see him agonize over everything. It’s what you do when you are falling for someone for the first time.” He decided on the BLT as well, closing the menu.

Minhyuk wondered if that is what he was feeling. He felt he was stepping lightly with Jooheon, unable to see where to go, but Jooheon seemed so comfortable in his skin about all of this. About him.

Jooheon looked at Minhyuk and could basically see the thoughts above his head. “I’m calm about this Min because I’ve been here before. I’ve liked someone, I’ve had a relationship. It didn’t last, and it was bittersweet for a while, but I learned from it. That’s why I am not freaking out like you are.”

Minhyuk opened his mouth to ask a question, but Hyunwoo slid in the booth so he closed his mouth. 

“Min, I don’t have secrets from you two. You can ask what you want.” Jooheon said. 

The waitress came over and filled the coffee cups. 

“Were you in a relationship with a man or a woman?” Minhyuk asked. 

“I’ve had both, but my most serious relationship was with a man.” He replied.

“Did your mother take it okay?” Hyunwoo spoke up.

Jooheon chuckled. He then burst into a full belly laugh. “My mom is perfectly fine with it. She shows up at the Pride parade in Indy, with a t-shirt that says ‘Free Mom Hugs’. She loves people, end of story.” 

Jooheon’s father had died when he was a baby, so all he knew was his mother. He protected her with his life. She moved to the states as a young bride, and became a widow all too soon after. She never remarried, and as far as Jooheon knew, she never dated. She doted on her baby boy without being overbearing. He was a straight up mama’s boy and didn’t care what anyone thought of it. 

“What happened with your relationship?” Minhyuk asked. 

“A few things actually,” Jooheon said. They were interrupted by the waitress coming to take their order. Hyunwoo ordered a burger and fries (and a side salad to minimize Min’s glare), Jooheon ordered the BLT, and Minhyuk got the spaghetti.

“Go ahead Jooheon.” Hyunwoo said. 

“He was a bit older than me, and he saw me as someone he could mold into what he wanted. Which isn't a thing you can do with me. When we started dating he asked me for a poly relationship.”

“Poly?” Hyunwoo asked. 

“He wanted multiple partners. I have no problem with that, but it wasn’t what I wanted. He was free to leave, but he said he would be okay with just me. He lied.” Jooheon took a sip of his coffee. “He’d been seeing several other people, not just me.” I had to go get tested for STDs. I thought my mom was going to cut him.”

“You seem very calm about all of this.“ Minhyuk noted. 

Jooheon smirked, his dimple showing. “I am now. But then, I was an absolute basket case. My trust was destroyed, my heart was broken, and I had been lied to so many times, about so many things, I didn’t know which way was up. My mom said I had a choice to make. I could dwell on the why and how this happened and let my heart soak in bitterness, or I could ‘chalk this one up to the game’.” Jooheon laughed. “She said that I needed to take a step back and think really hard as to if this was all really a shock, or I had been lying to myself the whole time because I wanted to be loved. And if that was the case maybe I needed to be alone for a while because what happened wasn’t love.” 

“She gives good advice.” Hyunwoo said. 

“She should follow her own advice sometime,” Jooheon snorted. “She found the guy and kicked him in the nuts. I didn’t find out until much much later.”

They all started laughing and they heard the bell at the door indicating that it had been opened. Hyunwoo glanced over and saw Maliah walk through. She had on his sweatshirt and her glasses were crooked again. “She is so pretty.” He said without thought.

Minhyuk glanced over. “She is, but she wears that sweatshirt all the time.”

“It’s mine. I loaned it to her when we went to the park, and she never gave it back.” They watched as the owner explained her meal had already been paid for and pointed to their booth. When she turned to look, all three of them started waving at her. She thanked the manager and walked over with a small smile. 

“Hello.”

“Hey,” Hyunwoo said, scooting over so she could sit, “We went to the gym and I wanted to show them this place.”

Just then their food arrived. After everything sat down both her and Minhyuk at the same time spoke up. 

“Eat your salad first.”

She smiled at Minhyuk and looked in her lap. 

“Now there’s two of you? Are you going to be ganging up on me?” She glanced at Minhyuk who grinned widely at her. 

“Maybe.” They said in tandem. They both started giggling. 

Hyunwoo smiled at the two of them. “Do you have time to eat your lunch with us or do you have to get back to work?”

“I can eat with you.” She unpacked her bag and saw at the bottom a piece of cake. “Is that…”

Hyunwoo glanced over and saw what she was looking at. Over the mouthful of lettuce and tomatoes he replied. “It’s lemon pound cake with lemon cream cheese icing.” 

Maliah stared at the cake.

“Are you okay?” Jooheon asked.

She looked up at him. “I fucking love lemon everything.” Everyone was startled at the expletive.

Minhyuk choked on his spaghetti.

Jooheon started laughing. 

Hyunwoo shook his head and went back to his salad, trying to hurry up and eat it so he could get to his burger. 

“I didn’t even know they sold this. Thank you.” Ignoring her sandwich she went straight for the cake. 

She moaned, startling Hyunwoo. “I really love lemon cake.'' Licking her lips of errant icing she was solely focused on the cake. 

Hyunwoo gawked at her, and started to laugh hysterically. 

“What’s so funny?” Minhyuk asked.

“Two things. One, we could have probably all been friends quicker had we left a lemon cake outside her door.”

“This is probably true.” Liah admitted.

“What is two?” Jooheon asked. 

“Two is personal.” Hyunwoo said, leaning over to whisper in Liah’s ear. “You moan louder for the cake than you did last night.” He said quietly. 

Liah choked. “Sorry?” She shrugged. “Cake trumps…” She looked up and saw Minhyuk and Jooheon staring at her expectedly. Cake will always trump that.” She amended blushing slightly.

They continued eating. She finished half of her sandwich and pushed the other half toward Hyunwoo, who began to wolf it down. “I gotta get going, I have another student soon.” She lightly kissed Hyunwoo on the temple, since his mouth was full of sandwich and took a sip of the ice water he’d left untouched on the table. “I will talk to you guys this evening.” She slid out of the booth and stopped. “I forgot to ask, do you guys take anything to the drive in?” 

“Sometimes we bring snacks, sometimes we eat there, it just depends.” Jooheon said. 

“Will you make spaghetti for dinner?” Minhyuk said suddenly. 

She wrinkled her brow. “Didn’t you just finish a plate of spaghetti?”

“Yours is better,” he admitted sheepishly, “also you have cinnamon rolls.”

“I can do that. Can you do me a favor? I’ll send you a list of stuff you need to check for in the kitchen. Let me know if we don’t have it.”

Minhyuk nodded and pushed Jooheon out of the booth. He gave her a hug, which Jooheon joined in on. Min began then rattling them all around which made Maliah laugh. 

“Bye guys. Thank you again for lunch.” With that she left the building. 

“She’s kind of...growing.” Jooheon noted. “She didn’t stutter at all, and she even cursed.”

“She needed a support system, and she has one. Hyunwoo, are her parents still around?” Minhyuk asked. 

“Yeah. They live in Indianapolis. They aren’t good people.” 

“Do you know where she lived in the city?” Jooheon asked as they walked up to settle the bill. “Did we go to the same high school?”

Hyunwoo shook his head. “When I told her you lived in Indy she asked me where you lived. I showed her on the map. She said that they lived in or close to downtown. She went to the IPS school district and then got a full ride to a private school for her last few years.”

Jooheon pulled out his phone. 

_ JL: Where did you go to private school? _

_ ME: If I tell you are you going to judge me? _

_ JL: Probably, snooty private school kid :). _

_ ME: *sigh* Brebeuf. _

_ JL: Holy shit! _

_ ME: I know, I know. I have to go, my student is here. _

Jooheon looked at Hyunwoo. “You said she told you she’s not smart that she just works hard? She lied. Big time.” 

They walk up to pay their bills. The owner was still there and asked them if they enjoyed their meal. 

“It was very good. Our friend really enjoyed the cake.” Hyunwoo said. 

Minhyuk started snickering. 

“She’s a good kid. Super timid. Always comes in quietly and pays, doesn’t really ever bring anyone with her, except you. Today was the most animated I’ve seen her.” He said as he handed over receipts. “You take care of her. She’s one of the good ones. I’ve seen her hand over her lunch to the homeless population, and have to come in and get a new one.”

“I will.” Hyunwoo said.

“We all will.” Minhyuk replied. 

Once out of the building Hyunwoo turned to Jooheon. “What do you mean she lied?”

“Brebeuf is a super snooty high end college preparatory academy. Not only do you have to have the grades to go there, there are tests, there are interviews, and there are acts of service you have to complete. She’s smart, and she's ambitious if she made it on scholarship.” Jooheon explained.

Hyunwoo marveled at how hard she worked to get where she wanted to be. He felt himself fall a little further for her. 

They drove back to the dorm so Minhyuk could take the kitchen inventory as she had requested. 

None of them noticed a small figure watching them leave.

* * *

Back at the dorm Minhyuk was going through the cabinets and fridge to check off Maliah’s list. Jooheon was watching him as he muttered to himself. Hyunwoo was in his room, writing to Liah. 

“She wants to know if we want her to pick up anything for the drive-in while she’s at the store. I want Skittles.” He said aloud as he typed to her. “Did you want anything? She said she’ll text Hyunwoo.” He glanced up and saw Jooheon staring at him. 

“What?”

“I know Hyunwoo was the catalyst to bring her out of her room and actually talk to us, but it feels as if her and you have a bond as well.” Jooheon said.

“I like her.” Minhyuk said simply, blinking at Jooheon. “Hyunwoo says that there are true friends, the people that leave a print on your heart. Bonds can break, distance happens, but they have left something that will always be part of you. She feels like she’s going to be that.”

Jooheon got up from the couch and walked over to Minhyuk. Sliding his hand to his face, he kissed him. Pulling back he looked into his eyes. “You and him have the biggest hearts of anyone I have ever met. You always seem so hesitant to show it. Why is that?” 

Minhyuk was struggling to focus on anything other than wanting Jooheon’s mouth on his again. “Hearts are tender, bruised easily. But I am also extroverted. I want to be around people, but I don’t want to be hurt. Hyunwoo chooses not to be around people, he’s introverted. I think it’s our different way to protect ourselves.” He looked at Jooheon. “Go out with me?” 

“A date?” Jooheon asked. 

“Yes.”

“Okay. When?”

Minhyuk thought about it. “We’re going to the drive-in Friday night. Saturday evening?”

Jooheon nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Dress nice. No jeans.” Minhyuk said. 

Jooheon kissed him one more time, went to his room and shut his door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boyz II Men - https://youtu.be/2JjKtxr-pg8
> 
> BREBEUF JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL - https://brebeuf.org/
> 
> Fun fact, I live down the street from this school. These kids are snooty as hell.


End file.
